Limelight
by FlyAndDontLookBack
Summary: Zombie apocalypse AU in which Midorima and Takao believe they'll be able to survive together, but forget that reality isn't as forgiving as they expect it to be. midotaka. charadeath.
1. PART I - I

**And here it is! Finally, I have published this zombie AU story! Cheers, cheers everywhere :)**

 **I've been working on this for way too long and you'll be surprised when I say that I'm still not done. I have everything planned out and all the chapters ready to write, but I haven't finished writing them at all. I've decided to separate this story into parts, so this is Part I!**

 **I hope you all enjoy this as much I did writing it because this story really hits me hard (especially with what I have planned), and I guess you can say this first chapter is a kind of social experiment. I would love to see how you guys react to this :)**

 **I'll be uploading this once every two weeks so I'll still have time to keep writing the other chapters and parts (and other stories as well that I have to update lol), and once Part I is finished, I'll be taking a small break from the story before coming back.**

 **If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the reviews and I'll answer it as much as I can :) Regarding the title, I won't say much except that I was inspired by a song with the same title. Not going to say from which artist but if you know what I'm talking about, don't spoil it for anyone else :)**

 **Hope you all love this as much as I do!**

 **So, without further ado, here is the first chapter!**

* * *

Corpses. All he sees are corpses, some moving, some not. His eyes are dull and grey. He doesn't hesitate to murder them all.

"Shin-chan, you doing ok there?" A black haired man calls out as he slashes the neck of a rotten, almost molten, zombie. The black-haired man smiles internally, knowing that all his research and extreme zombie movie nights have payed off quite well. He knows exactly when to strike, how to strike, and most importantly, how to protect.

The man, his hair gleaming a beautiful emerald against the slowly dying out sun, looks to his right; there are two coming their way. He looks to his left and sees three more. The black haired man has taken care of the one coming in front. They're outnumbered, but both of them know that the zombies are at loss, especially with the two of them working together.

The green haired man harrumphes as he slashes the two on the left and quickly dodges the ones coming from the right, almost with complete and utter ease. "Of course." He answers.

The zombie's bodies collapse in front of him, and blood squirts out, splashing some on his face. He, in a face of disgust, immediately wipes it off.

The black haired man gives him a grin as he kills the other two and the duo then goes behind, which has at least four. One by one, they all drop down. Had they not been so molten, the green haired man would have thought of them as the gentle pitter patter of the rain.

After looking around the area carefully, both finally sigh in relief and sit on the ground. There are bodies everywhere, all of them with injured or cut off heads, but the duo is glad that there aren't any more walking around.

The two have their back against each other and the black haired man leans against his partner, relishing the warmth between them, and smiles.

"Well, I guess we can stay here tonight, right, Shin-chan?" He asks.

The green haired man inspects the place once more, crinkling his nose, but has no choice but to nod in agreement. It's definitely better than roaming around at night, where he can't see anything. He's blind as bat when it comes to the dark, which is ironic, to say the least.

"Fine, we can set up camp here. And, Takao, get off me. It's too hot." The man says but both know that that's a complete lie. It's finally winter now in Japan, and the cold wind slaps them on the face every second. But even still, the green haired man would rather be shivering in the cold than to have his partner notice the thin line of blush forming on his cheeks. He could definitely blame it on the cold, but Takao has sharp eyes. He would know in an instant the difference between the cold's red color and something else.

Takao groans as he stands up. "Fine, but I'm still cuddling next to you while I keep watch."

The man's eyes widen at his partner's words. "You can't possibly take another shift. You did that twice in a row already. Aren't you tired?" He can't help but ask in worry. He makes sure to say it casually, however. Takao merely smiles, as if he knows that the man's just worried for him.

"Well, Midorima Shintarou-kun, who's the one who can see in the dark? Last time I checked, you can barely see without your glasses in the day. So, yes, I'm taking the shift again. You just rest your pretty eyes. We're going to need all your strength if we want to survive another day." Takao explains quite elaborately, and Midorima glares at him.

"You could at least wake me up before the sun goes up. That way, we can both have enough time to sleep. You're going to be exhausted at this point."

Takao shrugs. "Hey, you're talking to the person who's consecutively pulled five all nighters during the school breaks to get through all horror movies known to man. You were there with me, remember?"

Midorima crinkles his nose once more. "I always fell asleep after two movies or so. When I woke up, you were still watching. I still don't know how you to do it."

"Skills." Takao smiles easily as he dodges a slap coming his way.

Midorima crosses his arms in a skeptical way. "In either case, there is a very big difference between pulling all-nighters during a break, and pulling all-nighters at a time like this. You never know what might be lurking in the shadows, and being exhausted will not help at all."

"Hey, I still have a lot of energy left in me. Besides, we just need to get _you_ safe and sound. You're both the brains and the brawn in this duo, and we both know that I would've never even made it out the door if it wasn't for you."

Midorima tries to reject that, to try and tell him that it was actually _Takao_ that saved them from being killed the first day, but Takao cuts him off before he can say anything.

"Come on, Shin-chan. Let's get the tent set up." Takao says as he begins to take Midorima's backpack and unpack. Midorima sighs as he walks over to his side.

"At least sleep now. I doubt there's going to be any more zombies coming this way. This place is already filled with their smell, so they're not going to check this place any time soon. We're completely camouflaged."

Takao laughs at the suggestion and Midorima throws one of the metal pipes of the tent his way. Takao skillfully catches it. "Shin-chan, don't you know the number one rule in surviving zombie apocalypses? Always stay alert." He informs.

"I know that. _I'll_ be alert." Midorima replies, putting his hand to his chest.

Takao shakes his head, making Midorima groan in annoyance. "You can't be, Shin-chan. You're going to be too busy setting up the tent. Don't worry about me, ok? I'm perfectly fine."

"You won't be after a while. We can't risk it." Midorima says with a glare. Then, he sighs as he knows how stubborn Takao can be. But that doesn't mean he's relenting as well. "At least promise me you'll wake me up before sunrise, where I'll be able to see better."

When Takao still has his doubts, Midorima has to say it. "Please."

And with that, Takao's face melts in resignation, and he nods at Midorima half-heartedly. "Fine, you win, Shin-chan. And you really need to stop pulling that 'please' shit on me. It always works and it's becoming unfair." Takao scoffs jokingly.

Midorima has to turn away to hide his smile.

* * *

Midorima and Takao were childhood friends. Whether it was coincidence, destiny, or even faith, no one knew, but their path together was secured the moment the Midorima family moved next door to the Takao residence.

It was a complete surprise how well the families got along together. Normally, there would be awkwardness and the usual fake smiles to make sure there was no gossip to be thrown around afterwards. But, after a minute or so, they had all become so close, many would've thought they were life long friends.

It had been even better for all of them to bond because both families had a baby the same age. Before they knew it, Takao Kazunari and Midorima Shintarou were inseparable.

According to their parents, they would always go on picnics with their children and they would see Takao and Midorima chase the butterflies, sometimes fall down and scrape their knees, cry a bit, but the other would always cheer them back up and they would go back to chasing whatever floated above them. There was even one time when Takao fell into the lake and Midorima, in panic, fell down to save him, and both ended up almost drowning if it weren't for a passerby who had seen them.

Their childhood memories were filled with their establishing their personalities early on. Takao was, like his parents, an extremely cheerful child, who never failed to make everyone smile. Even the most grumpy one (Midorima) would submit to a smile in the very end.

Takao was a carefree child. He would always run around, most of the time to Midorima's house, and jump up and down the porch until the door opened and he was let in. He would immediately rush to Midorima's room on the first floor at the very end of the hallway, pull the green-haired child out of bed, and they would go to the backyard that was filled with flowers and trees, the sun shining on their faces, where they would play until the sun set and Takao would eventually have to leave. Takao's parents would always chuckle as he pulled on their legs, telling them they weren't done playing.

Takao was as happy as anyone could be, and he shone brightly, affecting everyone along the way, just like the sun and its ability to help nature and everyone else grow.

Midorima, on the other hand, became a superstitious person. It happened one day when he stumbled upon the horoscope channel, Oha Asa, and saw that Scorpio, Takao's sign, was dead last and they would, if not careful, be close to injuring themselves severely. Their lucky item that day was a whisk, something Midorima had in the kitchen. He had thought nothing of it and on the same day, when Takao barged into his house and both played in the backyard, a dog that was twice their size, suddenly ran towards Takao and bit him in the arm hard.

No one knew where it came from or how it got in, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that Takao was getting viciously marred.

It was the first time Midorima had seen him cry, much less scream, and he was frozen in his place, having no idea what to do. He then charged at the dog, to make it let go of Takao, but the dog pushed him aside with its body, its mouth still gripped onto Takao's arm.

Thankfully, both families heard Takao's cry of pain and rushed towards them, saving Takao by manhandling the dog and throwing it to the house wall as hard as they could. Not the best way to take care of a rabid dog, but they were desperate, and the two toddlers were scared out of their minds.

After a visit to the hospital, Takao was left with an irreversible scar and Midorima started watching Oha Asa daily, getting both his and Takao's lucky item for the day.

Midorima was also very serious person, who, even at a small age, had extreme amounts of homework, both from school and home. His mother was lawyer while his father a university teacher, and, in hopes of preparing Midorima for the future, they began giving him extra work that could not have been possible to do if it weren't for the fact that Midorima himself wanted to do it. Yes, there were moments when he was at his breaking point, even at the tender age of 10, but he knew he could always be grounded back to the ground because of the sun that lived right next to him.

In a way, Takao was always Midorima's savior. He was always there for him in times of great need, when he couldn't take the workload anymore and was close to ripping everything apart, when he just need to take a load off and have a nice rest. Takao would already provide him that the moment he asked for it.

Midorima liked to think of himself as more of the moon, because there were some times when he would be finished with his work, having no choice but to refuse Takao for the day, and look out the window to see Takao's room still lit up. He would then quietly get out of his room through the window, and knock on Takao's window, which was conveniently on the first floor.

He would tap lightly on it and Takao would pop up immediately with his regular, carefree smile. He would open the window up without any explanation, and Midorima would climb in like it was no big deal, as if they had done this many times (which they did). There, they would play games, watch movies, and just stay there until it suddenly became an impromptu sleepover. Of course, both families would practically murder them for having these kinds of sleepovers without their permission but they couldn't really be mad for long, not when Midorima and Takao were hugging each other like their life depended on it.

It was a good life for both families, and slowly but surely, they grew up to be middle schoolers who suddenly found that cooties were just a myth and there was so much more than what met the eye. It was at a terrible time as well; both families moved to the countryside of the city and Takao and Midorima were exposed to a new environment with new people and new ideas.

Puberty struck both of them hard, and hormones, emotions, anything that they didn't know in elementary school flew across the room haphazardly. Both suddenly found new meanings to love and feeling, and they were soon at their awkward stage.

They had been together for so long, they definitely couldn't have known what the feeling inside them was. That hot feeling when they touched each other in kitchen accidentally while making pancakes, that uncomfortable feeling in their lungs when they couldn't breathe right while being in the same room, and the overall feeling of confusion when they once almost kissed but both looked away at the last second while watching one of Takao's horror movies.

They didn't like each other, they kept telling themselves. They were like brothers. They've been together since they remembered. They just didn't know what was happening to them. They both rejected it. They both decided that it was puberty, not actually them.

But those feelings never left. Not even when they entered high school and found other partners to be with. They never left, not when Midorima once caught Takao making out with a girl behind the school, not when Takao found Midorima being knocked down by a girl and having her kiss him right there, in front of him.

Another feeling brewed, jealousy and anger, even envy, but they never expressed it to each other. They had already agreed in silence that they did not think of the other in that way. They were still blaming it on puberty, they were still deluding themselves, believing that the love they felt was different; that the love they were feeling was merely a brotherly love, a love that only comes after being with each other for so long.

They were still neighbors, friends, brothers even, but when they finally graduated high school and entered university, they couldn't deny that something growing in their chests. The uncomfortable, envious, confusing feeling they felt every single time. They couldn't deny the fact that the 'brotherly love' they kept convincing themselves of was, in fact, not that at all. It was something more than that. It was something absolutely terrifying, but both had to face it.

And they were about to. At least, Takao was.

But then, it happened.

* * *

"So, what do you wanna watch? _28 Days Later_ or _Paranormal Activity_?" Takao asked as he went to the DVD shelf, which was practically overflowing with all kinds of DVDs, mostly horror movies. Midorima shrugged as he came in with the popcorn, two actually.

"You know I don't care for scary movies." He replied and Takao decided on _Paranormal Activity_ , which had been helpfully translated in Japanese. They both sat on the couch, but not too close, and Midorima handed Takao his bowl of popcorn.

"God, I love the smell of freshly popped popcorn, don't you think, Shin-chan?" Takao commented and while Midorima did agree with Takao, he merely scoffed.

"You and your random banter. I don't know how I've lived through it for so long."

Takao merely smiled and he pressed play. They'd already seen this dozens of times, and in Takao's case, it was dozens upon dozens, but this was all they had until a new scary movie came out and Takao would purchase it.

"Aren't you tired of re-watching the same thing?" Midorima asked as the movie started. Takao shrugged as he pushed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

Once he swallowed, "Well, it's either that or playing with my little sister, and she's not back from school yet. Ah, the pleasures of being a university kid. You get vacation time early." Takao leaned back on the couch, completely enjoying the serene mood.

Midorima rolled his eyes. "We could at least do something productive."

"This _is_ productive. I'm fueling you with knowledge on how to deal with weird demon things that likes to be haunt and possess people. It's educational." Takao easily said back and Midorima slapped him on the arm.

"Yes, because something like this," Midorima said while pointing to the part of a white sheet suddenly collapsing on its own while being caught on camera, "happens in real life. You know this is never going to happen."

Takao shrugged as he recited some of the English words perfectly. He'd seen this way too many times. "You never know. You've been seeing the news, too, haven't you?"

Midorima nodded, knowing where this conversation was going. "The virus in America?"

"Yeah. Isn't it weird that we just stopped hearing about it?" Takao suddenly asked and Midorima raised his eyebrow. He had been thinking about that as well. A few weeks, Japan had been hazardous on covering what was happening in America. There seemed to be a virus - kind of like an influenza - and it was quickly making the people sick and close to death. Only blurry videos and pictures were provided of the people who were infected but the information was sketchy and no one in Japan could tell what was actually happening. And finally, just when it seemed the virus was going worse, the news suddenly stopped and the news network began to cover regular, harmless news.

"Maybe the virus is gone, or there are other interesting news out there. News networks can't just keep talking about one big thing that's going on. They need diversity, so maybe the virus isn't as bad as people say it is."

"But it's weird. I mean, I get that the news has to keep moving forward but I follow blogs talking about this kind of thing. The blog just suddenly stopped, too, and they post daily."

Midorima shrugged. "Those American blogs you always keep talking about?" Takao nodded. "Maybe they got sick, too, and needs a rest from blogging."

"But they would've told us if they were taking a break. That's what they always did when they were out for vacation or were too sick to post. The have a raging audience, you know, and they hate letting us down. So it's weird that it would just… stop like that." Takao persisted, and MIdorima directed his attention back to the movie, just getting to the part where the lights in the bathroom went off.

Takao could see that he was thinking for a logical explanation. Midorima always put his hands on his lips and occasionally closed his eyes in deep concentration. Takao couldn't help but admire those long eyelashes that complimented his face structure, and his jaw bone that could possibly cut through anything. His bangs almost covered his eyes, and he could tell that Midorima took good care of it to have it look as soft as that. He really just wanted to play with it, to touch it and comb through it, to feel its texture and maybe just Midorima himself.

And before Takao knew it, his mouth opened. "Shin-chan." He called out and Midorima snapped out of his thinking to look at his life-long friend.

He raised his eyebrow. "What is it, Takao? Did you find an answer?" His voice got Takao out of his stupor long enough to realize what he was about to say to him. He clamped his mouth shut and Midorima looked at him worryingly (well, worrying in Midorima standards. Takao could tell easily because he'd been with Midorima since they were practically babies. Normal people would just see it as a casual questioning look.)

"Takao?" He said and Takao darted his eyes back to the movie to avoid this awkward situation.

"Nothing! It's nothing. I don't have any answer yet. Maybe they really are taking a break and didn't tell us. It's fine. Let's just… Let's just watch the movie." He said too quickly and he bit his tongue at that mistake because he knew Midorima had caught it.

Unfortunately for him, Midorima paused the movie. "Takao, what's wrong?" He asked, devoting his full attention to him, and Takao had no choice but face him. Honestly, what was the worst that could happen? Takao could already think of more than 20, but the worst would definitely be ruining the friendship they've had for so long. He didn't want this bond to break, much less disintegrate right before his eyes, but with Midorima's prying eyes right before him, he knew he couldn't escape.

So, unable to disguise his feelings any longer, he decided to take the risk.

Who knew? Maybe Midorima would feel the same way. At that, Takao couldn't help but laugh internally. Sure, the great Midorima Shintarou, who might as well had the strictest, most traditional parents alive, turn out to be gay.

Takao could dream. But for the time being, it was now or never. To be honest, he was so tired of hiding it. He just wanted to let it all out.

Takao started rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, um… I've been meaning to tell you this for some time now, maybe since high school or something, but you know, it's been really tiring lately, we've had so many things to deal with, like graduation and getting into the same university and um -"

"Takao, you're babbling." Midorima pointed out, looking at Takao even more worryingly. Takao almost never babbled, and when he did, it was normally because there was something big he needed to say.

"Ah, was I? I had no idea. Sorry, sorry." Takao said while smiling, but Midorima knew the difference between a normal, carefree smile and a forced one, just like now. He crossed his arms in disapproval.

"If you were that uncomfortable, you could've just told me. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I thought we already established that years ago." Midorima said, secretly wanting Takao to revert back to his carefree nature but also wanting to know more, his curiosity flaring.

Said person grabbed his own arm from behind, torn between letting the secret go and keeping it back in. He began to shake his head, determined. "You know what? No. I'd rather just say it now than keeping it locked inside for who knows how long." Takao took a deep breath. "Ok, just… Just promise me we'll still be ok after what I say."

Midorima's eyebrows furrowed, which, in Takao's opinion, was absolutely adorable. Oh Christ, he really was head over heels for the person right next to him. "What do you mean? Is it that bad?"

Takao nodded in shame. "Yeah, kind of. I just… It might ruin what we have. You know, our lifelong friendship, and I really don't want that to happen."

"What could possibly do something like that? We've known each other since we were only one, for crying out loud." Midorima said skeptically and Takao had to agree. They had been friends for an eternity past, so this kind of thing wouldn't change their friendship at all. But even still, Takao was afraid. Even more so than when he encountered _Chucky_ , his first horror movie when he was in elementary school.

Takao laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess I'm just scared of how you might react."

"What could I possibly say? It's not like I'm going to leave any time soon."

Takao pointed to Midorima with a pointed look. "That's kind of what I'm scared of right now. That you might leave me for good." He trailed off and winced when he played that kind of imagined scenario inside his head.

Then, Midorima did something Takao would have never imagined him doing. Midorima put his hand on top of his head and began to pat him tenderly. Takao looked at him shock, but relished the touch and wished it would never leave.

"You know I would never leave you." Midorima said solemnly, confidently, and Takao got the feeling that it might be ok to confess after all.

He took a deep breath, completely calm now, and with Midorima's hand still on his head, still but nevertheless still reassuring, Takao stared at Midorima's green, almost emerald-like eyes intensely. They looked absolutely beautiful.

"Ok, ok. I'm ready." Another deep breath. "Shin-chan, I -"

The door started banging and they immediately detached themselves from each other, hearts pounding but pretending as though a moment like that had never happened.

Takao looked at the time on his watch and saw that it was usually when his mom came back with his little sister from pre-school. His face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why is she knocking? Doesn't she have the key to the house?" Takao asked himself. He then turned to Midorima, who was equally as confused. "Maybe it's your parents, Shin-chan."

Midorima scoffed at the suggestion. "Yes, because obviously my parents are at home and just wanted to drop by."

"Oh yeah, your mom's on an intense case today, isn't she?"

"And my father is probably still stuck in university, grading papers and dealing with the rebellious students who refused to take the finals."

Takao smiled cheekily. "Damn, must be hard to be rebellious kid, right?"

"You would know best, Mr. I-would-rather-watch-movies-all-night-than-study." Midorima commented and Takao couldn't help but howl with laughter. Midorima's face formed a small blush that Takao failed to notice as he was already walking to the door.

"Wait, so who's there?" He questioned too late before facing the door. "Who is it?" He then called out and incoherent murmurs were heard on the other side. The two looked at each other, perplexed, and Takao's instinct screamed at him to back away, which he fortunately did, because at that exact moment, the door busted open and three excruciatingly gruesome looking monsters entered, locking their eyes on Midorima and Takao.

The monsters, which almost looked like rotting corpses of unrecognizable people, charged in and Midorima had no idea what to do. He stayed frozen in his place, eyes growing wide as the corpse came his way closer and closer, and he was sure he was a goner until he heard Takao screaming.

"Shin-chan, your lucky item!"

Midorima's eyes immediately spotted the mini hatchet (which Oha Asa said would be extremely useful today for Cancer) and he lunged for it before the corpse did the same to him. His grip tightened on the handle but he still had no idea what to do with it. He then saw Takao from the corner of his eye with a pair of kitchen scissors, stabbing wildly at the head of one of them.

He then understood as he took his hatchet and swung at it accurately at the back of the head of the monster. A critical hit, and a strong one at that, because it sliced right through, even though it was a mini hatchet that was just a bit bigger than Midorima's knuckle. Half of the head dropped to the ground, and soon enough, the body as well, but Midorima couldn't catch his breath just yet.

Just as Midorima killed the monster, Takao shouted in panic and Midorima turned his head to where Takao was. He rushed over there as soon as he saw Takao being pinned down, barely avoiding the monster's attack, its teeth gnawing at the air, trying to get to Takao's skin. His hand gripped the scissors wildly try to jab at the forehead, but he kept missing, and he soon decided to just have the thing get off him. It was almost impossible to do so as the gravity and the weight of the bigger monster were all working against his favor, and just before the thing could open its mouth and lunge for Takao's arm that was closest to its mouth, Midorima came down with the hatchet, heading straight for the top of the head of the corpse-like thing.

It's movement instantly stopped as the body went limp, and Takao could finally push it off him. It didn't stop Midorima, however, as he began to completely ruin the body by stabbing at it multiple times, screaming at it to die.

Takao had never seen Midorima this shaken before, but he knew he would have done the same had the positions been switched.

He hugged Midorima from behind, trying to stop his hatchet hand from stabbing any further. "Shin-chan, stop! It's already dead!"

It took several tries to get Midorima to stop, but he finally did and they both took a deep breath, from lack of air or from relief, they had no clue.

"Wh… What was that?" Midorima asked, his voice shaken with confusion and shock, and Takao bit his lip, unsure himself.

"It…" He inspected the bodies closer and Midorima hissed in complete disapproval.

"Don't get too close, idiot!"

Takao ignored him. Then, it hit him. "Zombies."

Midorima actually blanched out, which, in any normal situation, Takao would have laughed at whole-heartedly. "What?"

"Zombies, Shin-chan! Rotten corpses that just want to eat any human being they see or smell? It's definitely zombies!" Takao exclaimed, but unlike his normal happy tone when he saw zombie movies, his tone this time was more serious and somewhat terrified.

Both were silent, trying to process what just happened a few seconds ago, and Midorima suddenly ran to the TV.

"Shin-chan, what are you doing?" Takao called out and was about to follow him when he saw the door flying open. He cursed when he saw the busted lock and quickly closed it, making as less noise as possible. He went up to Midorima, who was closing the movie and changing stations, and started pushing one of the sofas towards the broken door.

"Uh, little help here?" Takao asked while huffing but Midorima ignored him, flipping through the channels immensely fast. Takao realized what he was doing and pushed the sofa by himself. When he secured the door, Midorima called Takao in.

"Takao, look." He said, and Takao didn't like the tone of his voice. He rushed over and saw with horror the video captured behind the news reporter.

They listened intently to what she was saying.

"The epidemic, which had completely taken over America just a few weeks back, has moved over to Japan and several other countries in Asia. This virus, which had only infected one person at the time, had spread throughout the entire United States, and has thus shown horrible outcomes. What seemed to be a glimpse of fantasy has now turned into reality as people who have the virus seemingly die, only to come back, looking for food, or in this case, human flesh. Many speculate that this epidemic is like that of a zombie apocalyptic movie, in which the virus only spreads when a zombie has eaten a human being until the verge of death, and with this footage, that definitely seems to be the case. This was taken in Tokyo a few days ago. Viewer discretion is advised."

The video behind the woman enlarged, and they saw a person getting bitten by a zombie, flesh being torn apart and the camera shakily backing away.

"Get away from him!" A panicked Japanese voice shouted but the zombie kept eating, and once it was finished, it soon diverted its attention to probably the camera man, and the camera dropped the ground, the video turning sideways. Fading footsteps were heard as well as a gruesome growl, and slowly, the person whom the zombie had been eating, and who Midorima and Takao both thought he was dead, twitched his hand terribly. Soon enough, he opened his eyes, yellow and dilated, and growled loudly, just like the one that was heard a few seconds ago. It stood up and began to walk slowly with wobbling steps.

The reporter came back. "For anyone who has not been infected, immediately find a safe location, secure all doors and windows if any, and do not proceed to go out until further notice. Have a radio at all times and listen for updates and warnings. Conserve as much food as possible. Do not, I repeat, do not go out at any circumstance and do not open doors if there is any banging. Thank you."

The news shut down and the two looked at each other in disbelief.

Then, "My little sister! Mom!" Takao screamed in horror and ran to the door. Midorima grabbed his wrist at the last second and held him back tightly.

"What do you think you're doing? The reporter said to not go out in any circumstance. There're probably thousands of them outside, judging by her scared tone. You're practically walking to your own death by going out there."

Takao struggled to escape Midorima's grip. "I don't care! My little sister and my mom are out there, probably stuck, and I'm the only one who knows how to deal with this."

"Zombies movies aren't a reliable source!" Midorima said exasperatedly.

"Where do you think I got the idea of killing them from? The whole aiming for the head thing?"

Midorima bit back his response because Takao was right about that. That fact alone, however, didn't stop him from holding Takao back.

"I am not letting you go out." Midorima stood his ground.

"I'm going whether you like it or not!" Takao shouted back as he kept struggling.

"You don't even have a weapon with you!"

"I'll take your goddamn cleaver. Just let me go! I have to save my family!"

Takao was desperate. Midorima could see it so well. And honestly, he would have done the same if it were his parents. Hell, he would've jumped to idea to save Takao's family as well. But he couldn't risk it. He couldn't risk losing one of the most important people in his life.

But even so, this was Takao's family they were talking about. Midorima knew how much he loved all of them, especially his little sister, so he could understand so well why Takao wanted - no, needed - to do this.

Before Takao could say any more, Midorima let go and Takao hesitated for a second.

"Shin-chan?"

"I'm still not letting you go." Takao's face fell. "Not alone." His face immediately brightened. Midorima went to the kitchen and saw a butcher knife hanging from the counter. Takao's mother had always needed to use this knife, mostly because both Takao and his little sister were obsessed with meat.

He took it and handed it to Takao.

"You'll need a weapon. All you need to do is stab them in the head, right?" Midorima asked and Takao nodded in confirmation.

"Just like you did. Slice through if you can. If you can't, just stab them in the head and they'll go down. The only thing functioning in a zombie's body is its brain. You take that down and the whole thing goes down with it. Come on, let's go."

They pulled the sofa out of the way and started head out. Midorima took a look back at the three corpses lying on the ground, shaking his head to try and get the image out of his mind.

Takao turned back to warn him. "Zombies are extremely sensitive to noise if _Dead Set_ has proved me well. It's better if we make no noise whatsoever."

Midorima nodded in confirmation and they barged outside.

It was too silent.

They looked at each other, mentally preparing themselves, and walked carefully without making any noise.

Fortunately, Takao's sharp eyes and hawk-like instincts were a gift at a time like this because he could sense any zombie coming their way in a 5-mile radius. He carefully pushed Midorima at a certain direction every time there were any zombies around, and Midorima trusted Takao completely.

"Where are we going?" Midorima whispered as softly as possible, putting his face close to Takao's ears so that it could only be heard by him.

"Pre-school." Takao answered back a bit hesitantly but Midorima didn't take notice of it, just nodded. It was only logical that they go there, just to see if his little sister and his mother were locked in.

But as it turned out, they didn't have to go pretty far. They didn't have to go all the way to pre-school.

Because along the way, Takao spotted an extremely familiar grey car in the middle of the street that had been completely wrecked, along with some others, but for Takao, that was the only thing in his view. He ran as fast as he could to the wrecked grey car, Midorima following from behind, and both prayed to the Gods that they were ok; that they were safe and sound.

Their prayers had not been answered.

When Takao got close enough, he could hear growling and scratching, both in high and low pitches. He could see the smashed window panes, the claw marks, the ripped fabric of the seats, but most importantly, he could see two figures with rotten, molten skin, yellow dilated eyes, and multiple chunks of their bodies gone.

His legs crashed to the ground and Midorima had to look away from the little girl, no older than six, begging to be freed from her seatbelt so that she could eat.

He crouched down to Takao, who was silent, but Midorima knew better. He hugged him, and Takao's body went stiff. He rested his head onto Midorima's shoulder that got wetter by the second and Midorima had to close his eyes to will his own tears away.

He knew Takao's parents and little sister. Having parents with demanding jobs, he barely saw them, especially when they entered middle school, so he ended up spending much more time with Takao and his family instead. He was even there when Takao's mother was giving birth to his little sister, waiting outside the hospital room together, holding Takao's hand tightly to show him everything was going to be ok. There were problems at the time with Takao's mother while she was pregnant, so they weren't sure both of them were going to make it, but the surgery had been successful, and Midorima even joined in on the group hug once Takao's mother had awoken.

There were multiple times when Midorima believed that he was part of Takao's family instead.

He helped Takao up to his feet. The people inside the car were still growling for their food.

"We have to go back. We can't afford being here without something coming our way. Come on." Madam whispered as he began to support Takao's weight onto his body and but Takao shook his head, his hair covering his eyes.

"I can't - I can't leave them like this." Takao said, his voice hoarse. Midorima knew immediately what Takao had to do.

"Do you… Do you want me to do it?" Midorima asked cautiously. Takao shook his head once more, merely walking forward.

"Just… Just wait for me there, ok? It won't take that long." Takao said, voice barely a whisper.

Midorima couldn't even bear to watch as Takao approached the car and, as Takao reassured himself that the two were safely locked in their seat belts, he stabbed the top of their heads with the same knife his mother had always used to make food for them, to make sure they were safe and not starving, to show how much their mother loved her two children. The little girl and mother stopped moving immediately, their bodies slumped, their movements halted, and their eyes completely gone.

The two were still quiet on their way back, but this time, Midorima had to rely on his own sight and instincts to avoid as many zombies as possible. It didn't work out as well as he would have like, however, because they had to kill some zombies before finally returning home.

And when they finally shut the door with the sofa after throwing the three zombies out, Takao couldn't help but finally let it all out, to wail and scream in agony, to cry and howl, to lament and find comfort. Midorima was right there for him, to remind Takao that he was not alone in this twisted world and they still had each other.

* * *

 **So, how was it? Good, bad, meh? Tell me in the comments!**

 **I really hope you'll stay with me throughout this story because it is a bit long, not so much in chapters but the length in each one. It'll take some time to finish, but I hope it'll be worth it :)**

 **Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll get back to you the next chapter and please await the next update!**

 **Peace,**

 **FlyAndDontLookBack**


	2. II

"We can't stay here forever. We're running out of food." Midorima said one day while Takao was flipping through the channels, looking for any changes. Takao looked over his shoulder and gave Midorima an unsurprised look.

Midorima immediately crossed his arms. "You were already planning on doing that, weren't you?" He guessed and Takao gave him a sheepish smile that only came out as tired.

It had only been a week since the change at started and part of Takao's family was gone (they still had no idea if Takao's father and Midorima's parents were still alive; they agreed to not think about it), and both had been stuck inside Takao's house, food slowly running out and both pretty much going insane over the lack of fresh air and sunlight.

"I may or may not have been planning to go outside at night while you were asleep." Takao confessed. "Looks like I don't have to do that anymore. Let's go out!"

Midorima stopped him at the last minute. "You were going to go out at night, alone?" He emphasized while glaring at the black-haired man. Takao had to avoid the intense glare.

"Maybe?" He said, making the word sound more like an uncertain question.

"Do you realize that you can't even _see_ at night? Where would you even go? Did you even plan correctly? What were you going to do?" Midorima exploded.

"I was just going to go to the supermarket a few blocks down. You know, Shin-chan, _Happy Go Lucky Market?_ It's close and it's probably abandoned, so I could definitely mooch off it without having to deal with the consequences. I had it all planned out!" Takao defended as if that were a relatively easy thing to do.

"That's not the point." Midorima hissed. "The point is that you were going to out _alone at night,_ where you can barely even see five inches ahead of you, with zombies crawling around everywhere. Were you even going to take a weapon with you? I sleep next to the cleaver, you know. I definitely would have woken up if you were to take it."

Takao bit his lip at the rebuke. But he wasn't going down without a fight. "I have good eyes, Shin-chan! I can see in the dark, you know that. I would've been perfectly fine. Besides, I was going to the, uh, butcher knife -"

"- Takao -"

"- To defend myself. It would've worked out fine. I'd go out, get the food, come back before dawn, and you wouldn't have to do anything."

Midorima narrowed his eyes. "Did you even consider the fact that the supermarket might be locked?"

"I would've just broken the windows. I've done it before with the baseball bat. I could do it again. Hey, I could just use the baseball bat! You know, smash their heads open if I needed to." Takao replied back, hoping that Midorima would let go of his wrist now.

Midorima was relentless. "What about the alarms?"

Takao's face immediately fell at the remark. "The what again?" He asked even though he perfectly heard him.

"The alarms." Midorima said, finally letting go of Takao's wrist and crossing his arms. "They go off the moment someone steals food without paying. What do you think might happen if you break the windows? Aren't you the one who said that zombies are attracted to noise?"

Takao pursed his lip, trying to find ways to retort, but when he found none, he hung his head down. "Fine, you win. Maybe it might not have been such a good idea. But what do you suggest then? You just said we were running out of food. What are we going to do, Mr. Smart-ass?"

Midorima glared at Takao before walking to the living room where the television was. He sat down, crossing his legs, and began to think. He closed his eyes, putting his hands to his his lips, and becoming silent.

Takao said nothing, as he knew he couldn't disturb Midorima at a time like this, and a few minutes passed when Midorima finally opened his eyes.

He looked at Takao expectantly. Takao raised his eyebrow in confusion. "What?" He asked as Midorima got up from his spot.

"Do you know how to pick a lock?" MIdorima suddenly questioned, making Takao's eyebrows furrow in further bewilderment.

"Uh, maybe? Why?"

"Remember just a few weeks ago, we read from the newspaper that the supermarket was robbed?"

Takao tilted his head. Then, he snapped his fingers at the memory. "Oh, yeah! It was completely unexpected because the market is so tight in security, you'd think you'd never be able to break in and out without alerting the city."

"Remember how the robbers did it?"

"Um, I think it's because they… picked the front entrance lock." Takao's face brightened. "Shin-chan, you're a genius!" He exclaimed and ran to his room to get a paper clip, completely rushing past Midorima's blushing face.

Takao then peeked his head through the door. "Wait, but didn't the manager change the lock after it happened?"

Midorima shook his head. "You'd think he would, but apparently he didn't because it would cost too much. According to my father, he just ended up moving into the market."

Takao's face blanched before laughing. "Wait, are you saying that the dude just sleeps inside the supermarket now because he couldn't afford to change the whole security system? Oh god, that's hilarious. Can you just imagine him camping in the marshmallow section, roasting them with his lighter? He really had no life, did he?"

Midorima couldn't suppress a small smile. "No, he really didn't."

"You'd think the dude would set up alarms even at the entrance door." Takao commented.

"Why would you put alarms at the entrance door? It would go off every time a person went out, and how annoying would that be?"

"Then why didn't people who wanted to rob the market pick the lock sooner? It seems like a perfectly easy plan to get away with."

Midorima rolled his eyes. "One because I'm pretty sure no one _knows_ how to pick a lock fast enough, and two because everyone knows everyone. We all practically know each other well enough to call each other family. Why would we want to do that to a close relative?"

Takao couldn't say anything to that. He soon went back inside in search of what he needed and soon came out with a satisfied look on his face.

"Do you have everything ready?" Midorima asked with a raised eyebrow.

Takao came out of his room with a lock pick. Midorima looked at him suspiciously. "I thought you would get a paper clip. Why in the world do you have an actual lock pick?"

Takao grinned mysteriously. "For personal reasons." And he refused to say more. Midorima sighed but was actually glad that he had something extremely handy with him.

Before Takao got out of his room, Midorima stopped him. "Get a big bag or something."

"Why?" Takao asked.

"Because we need something to put all the food in." Midorima said pointedly and Takao slapped his forehead at his own idiocy.

"Right, we can just use my basketball sports bag." Both couldn't help but reminisce about their high school days for a minute before Takao rushed to get it. Midorima still wished they were back in high school, playing as the Light and Shadow of Shuutoku. They had wonderful memories back then, and it would have been even better if Takao hadn't had a girlfriend, but that was solely because it made Takao distracted more often times than not, no other reason whatsoever.

When they were both ready with the bag, the lock pick, and their own weapons (Midorima with the hatchet and Takao with his butcher knife), they pushed the sofa out of the way and started walking into the streets. It was still eerily silent, and for a while, they saw no zombies. The only ones that they did were Takao's mother and little sister, still stuck inside the car, but they posed no threat anymore. Takao had to close his eyes as they passed the grey car. Midorima said nothing but merely wrapped his shoulder around Takao and guided him.

When they finally got to the store, Midorima walked a few steps back while Takao began to fiddle with the silver lock that held thick chains on the entrance door. Midorima had to hold back a mother-like nag when Takao easily unlocked it.

"Wasn't that a bit too fast?" Midorima said and Takao merely gave him a devious grin. He then carefully removed the chains to not make so much noise and put them aside along with the now open lock.

Takao took a deep breath. "Are you sure no alarms are going to set off?"

Midorima nodded. "Positive."

Takao nodded as well before turning back to the door and slowly opening it, making sure to be on high alert in case something did go off.

Thankfully, it didn't, and Takao fully opened the door to let both him and Midorima in. There was no one inside, but there was plenty of food to stock, so they immediately went their separate ways to get more coverage. By the time they regrouped at the entrance, Midorima's hands were full of supplies, mostly snacks and water, and Takao's bag was already two thirds filled with his own. Midorima said nothing as he dumped his portion in the bag, and Takao was just about to walk out the door when Midorima grabbed him by the shoulder.

Takao almost tripped. "What was that for?" He complained but Midorima looked agitated, making Takao stop mid-rant.

"Thank goodness I remembered just in time. We didn't pay for these, remember?"

"Yeah?" Takao tilted his head in confusion. "So? There's no one to even check the items out."

"The alarms, Takao, the alarms." At that, Takao's eyes widened in realization.

"Right, they go off if we don't pay for them. Shit. So what do we do?"

Midorima looked around. "There's got to be a switch or a button to turn them off. All alarms have that, don't they?" Takao nodded in agreement.

"So, we just have to look for the switch, right? Easy enough. I'll check the counters, you see if there're any back doorways." They split up once more and when Takao found nothing behind the check out counters, Midorima called for him.

"I found a back door. Looks like the manager's room." Midorima said once Takao approached. "No luck with the counters?"

"Nada." Takao said with his hands to his back, a mischievous grin on his face. Midorima raised an eyebrow.

"Takao, what do you have behind your back?"

Takao smiled sheepishly. "Well, there was nothing behind the counters except for the cashier box so I thought, hey, I could definitely hone my lock picking skills, so I -"  
Midorima slapped his forehead. "You took all the money, didn't you?"

Takao removed his hands from his back to show stacks of money. "It's a lot, isn't it?"

"Why exactly do we need that much money? We can pretty much steal anything, you know that, right?" Midorima pointed out but Takao shrugged.

"Hey, you never know. We might not be the only ones who survived. There might even be a shelter or something where we have to pay to get in. Anything can happen, you know?"

Takao then waited for Midorima to begin ranting about how that wasn't moral in the least, but to his surprise, Midorima just shrugged.

"Fine, just put in the bag and help me. The door's locked."

Takao smiled big as he put the money in the bag and Midorima moved away from the door for him to pick the lock. In a few seconds, they heard a click coming from the inside and Takao put a thumbs up for Midorima to see.

"Now what would you have done without me?" Takao haughtily asked and Midorima rolled his eyes, pushing Takao out of the way. Takao laughed, unwilling to move, and Midorima grunted in annoyance. He didn't bother responding to the question because that was not his aesthetic; they both knew Midorima would've been goner without his black-haired companion.

And at that moment, as he saw everything happening in slow motion right before his eyes, he could see just how important Takao was to him. Because the moment Takao opened the manager door, a horrendous monster jumped out, grabbing onto Takao's neck and trying to lunge its teeth into his flesh.

Midorima didn't think; his hatchet was already on back of the zombie's head, hanging there with blood slowly seeping out of the widening hole. Takao pushed the zombie to the ground, eyes wide and shaking.

"Fuck, that scared me." Takao breathed out, his body subtly trembling. He put his arms around himself, as if to try and reassure himself that he was still ok, and Takao couldn't help but hug himself tightly.

"I didn't know the manager was inside there." Takao said in a quivering tone, the shock still there. He laughed shakily, and Takao looked inside carefully, finding the light switch as fast as he could.

The room was in complete shambles, and it was evident that the manager had fought hard before dying. Papers were flung everywhere on the ground, the desk itself was turned upside down, and there were splatters of blood marring every wall, some the color of dried red and others the color of a yellowish green. There was another door at the back corner, which Takao realized was how the manager was able to use those big chains at the front entrance without locking himself out. Takao also deduced that this was how the zombie had barged into without sounding any alarms. It must have led to the back alleyway. How the zombie opened it, he had no clue. Takao searched the area, and right in the middle of the room, there was a zombie unmoving, in which he sighed in relief.

"So, at least the manager killed it off, right?" Takao asked and he was about to take a step inside when his legs gave out on him. Midorima was right behind him to hoist him back up.

"Takao, I'll go in. You stay here and rest for a bit." Midorima ordered and for once, Takao didn't say anything back. He merely collapsed the ground - carefully with Midorima's help - and lowered his face to his palms, slowly rubbing his eyes to let the shock go away. He took several deep breaths and didn't look up until he knew he was ok, not even when he heard Midorima coming back out and silently closing the door. When he opened his eyes, Midorima was sitting right next to him, giving him a hard yet worrying stare.

"Are you - are you ok?" Midorima asked hesitantly, and Takao laughed slightly at the awkward Midorima right next to him. He hadn't been this direct since they were in elementary school.

"I'm fine now, Shin-chan. Did you switch off the alarm?" He asked and Midorima nodded.

"We can go. It's a bit weird, though."

"Hm?" Takao looked at Midorima curiously. "What is?"

"That the manager was able to kill the zombie but still turned." Midorima explained and Takao thought about it, knowing what Midorima had said was true. He leaned over to the zombie that had just tried to eat him, and though he was still a bit wary, he could take in every detail of the once surviving manager of the super market.

"There's a big chunk of his flesh gone." Takao examined. "But it's not enough to make him die from just that." Midorima walked over to where the zombie was, and hesitated before he could touch it.

"I won't get infected if I touch the thing, right?" He asked and Takao shook his head.

"Where was that question when you chucked off the zombies that were in our house that day?"

MIdorima harrumphed. "We were wearing gloves, remember?"

Takao chuckled. "No, you wore gloves. I just handled it like a man." Midorima gave him a look, which made Takao significantly better. "No, you won't get infected by touching them. The only way to turn into one is to have them eat you until you die." Takao said skeptically. "But that wound should be nothing unless he died from blood loss."

"It is a possibility." Midorima noted as he examined the lost shoulder himself. As a valedictorian student preparing to be a doctor, he knew just how much blood a person could lose and how much time it would take until he would die from blood loss. "Looks like it happened a few days before our visit." Midorima then deduced and pushed the zombie away.

"Jesus, they smell bad." Takao said, crinkling his nose. Midorima nodded in agreement.

Midorima then sighed. "Do you think he knew that he was going to die?"

Takao shrugged. "Who knows? Aren't there some accounts where people can tell when they're about to die? It happens all the time in stories."

"Then if he knew he was going to die, the least he could have done was to kill himself." MIdorima then stated and Takao looked at him with horrified eyes.

"What?" Takao exclaimed. "What did you just say?"

"What I'm saying is, if he could feel himself dying, he could have just killed himself before he turned and it would've saved us the trouble."

Takao couldn't believe what MIdorima had just said. "Are you saying that a person should just kill himself for the sole reason being that it would've been better for us? How could you, Shin-chan? I'm sure he had no clue he was going to turn! He could've had hope that he would get better, or at least just die without becoming one of them. What are you saying, Shin-chan? This isn't like you at all!"

"You were almost killed, Takao!" Midorima yelled, stunning Takao in place. "I don't have any supplies at all! No medical kits handy, no first aid kits around! What do you think would've happened if he took a big chunk out of you? What do you think we could've done? We wouldn't have time to patch it up, and we wouldn't have the right equipment to completely stop the bleeding, too. Why are you defending him? I almost lost you, for crying out loud!" Midorima's eyes widened at his own words and clamped them shut, eyes darting around, not knowing what to do.

For a moment, the two former university students said nothing, tension high and confusion growing. Then,

"Let's go back. I think we have enough food for two weeks or so, and since we've turned off the alarm and dealt with the lock, we can just come back here whenever we can, right?" Takao suggested and Midorima nodded a bit eagerly.

"Sure… Yeah, that would work. Come on, let's go." Midorima stammered and the duo took off, stealthily avoiding any zombie coming their way and barricading the door so that they would be safe, or at least, safe enough.

* * *

A few months past, and their routine becoming clear. If food ran out, they would both go out and get more from the supermarket. The supplies there were becoming rotten or outdated but there were still some that was edible, like the snack section, though the meat portion was completely ruined as there was no AC to keep them from spoiling.

Water had also been cut off, so several times, they had to go and carry a pack of 2L water bottles to use not only for drinks but also for showers. Dishes could be ignored but both couldn't stay dirty for too long. As former basketball players who hated bad hygiene, they had to take showers. It was mandatory for them.

However, after two weeks when they saw the amount of water dwindling as well, they couldn't help but sacrifice shower privileges as well. To survive, they would need water to stay hydrated and nothing else. Midorima cringed when they made the decision, but he knew it couldn't be helped. So, when his hair became oily and unbearable to deal with, he asked Takao to cut off his hair.

Takao looked at him in complete shock. _"What?"_

Midorima wasn't fazed. "I want you to cut my hair off."

"Um, why, exactly?" Takao asked, eyes blinking wildly as to try and understand the green haired man in front of him.

"I don't want to deal with the uncomfortable hair. The feeling is unbearable and I would rather have it cut off completely than to deal with it for another day." Midorima said logically. Takao bit his lip. He absolutely loved Midorima's hair, and while it had grown past his eyebrows, it was still a good look for him. But at the same time, he could understand Midorima's dilemma. Takao was having the same problem.

"Fine." Takao reluctantly agreed. "But I can't buzz cut it. I don't have the right tools."

"It's fine. Just cut as short as you can."

"Are you sure, though? This hairstyle's always been with you, you know?" Takao tried to persuade but Midorima shook his head, disgust plastered on his face.

"It's going to grow back either way."

Takao sighed but gave Midorima a smile. He went to the kitchen and came back with a pair of scissors. "It's not the right tool for hair cutting, but if you want it that badly, I guess I can make it work."

Midorima snorted. "What are you? My personal hair stylist?"

Takao tapped his eye. "I pay great attention to detail. I can still make you handsome looking even with these godforsaken scissors." Midorima rolled his eyes but soon closed them, and Takao went to work.

Half an hour later, the floor around Midorima's chair was covered with green hair, and Takao couldn't help it. Midorima still looked hot with a buzz-like cut. He really did try his best to shorten it as much as possible, and with a few tricks he learned while cutting his hair, it really looked like Midorima was going to military or something.

Takao looked at Midorima's new look, once skeptically, and another with more approval.

"Done!" He said enthusiastically, patting himself on the back for a good job done, and Midorima stood up to go and look for himself in the bathroom mirror. When he came back, he had a surprised look on his face.

"You… Did a good job." Midorima complimented awkwardly, and Takao did a double-take. Did he just hear Midorima giving him a direct compliment?

"Hey, no problem, Shin-chan!" Takao passed off smoothly, but inside, he was dancing.

"Do you want me to do the same to you?" Midorima then asked and Takao shook his head.

"I think I'm fine. I'm not ready for a drastic change like yours. I think I'll keep my headband to keep my bangs out of the way. But I'll tell you when you can cut it." Takao said with a smile and Midorima nodded, starting to clean up the hair.

They heard a knock on the door a few minutes after they took the trash outside (carefully, of course). The duo looked at each other. It wasn't like the banging of a zombie this time; it felt more human.

Takao unfolded the curtain and to both of their surprises, a man who looked a bit older than they appeared, his eyes alert and begging.

"Please, open the door! Please!" The muffled voice cried out and Takao, without Midorima's consent, pulled the sofa out of the way as fast as he could. The man barged in with his body and the duo immediately placed the sofa back to where it was.

"Thank you." The man huffed as he tried to regain his breath. He collapsed on the floor, grabbing onto his neck, willing himself to take deep breaths. Midorima glared at Takao and he shrugged in response.

'I had to, Shin-chan.' Takao's eyes said. Midorima just crossed his arms.

'You still should've talked to me before we let him in.' Midorima eyed back. He then turned his attention to the man in front of them. He had long hair, tips barely touching his neck, and it was oily, just like Takao's, maybe even more so. His clothes were tattered but by judging at the mark on the back of his jumper, he was in university, just like them.

"Kyoto University? You're all the way from Kyoto? What are you doing here in Tokyo?" Midorima asked incredibly. "It's two regions away, and at the time like this? Don't tell me…" Midorima's eyes widened at the man's strength and stamina.

"Water… I need water…" The man breathed out, completely ignoring Midorima's words, and Takao immediately rushed to the kitchen to get the stranger a bottle of water. He drank it selfishly and almost choked halfway through it.

"Hey, slowly now. It's ok. No one's going to steal it from you." Takao reassured and the man calmed himself down, drinking the rest of the water eagerly, but not as quickly as before. When he was done, he sighed in relief.

"Thank you." He said in appreciation, his voice still a bit hoarse, as he looked at Takao and the hawk-eyed man smiled back.

"Anything to help anyone who's not dead!" Takao said cheerfully, though Midorima slapped him on the arm. "What?" Takao asked while rubbing his shoulder.

"As I was saying, did you walk all the way from Kyoto to here?" Midorima asked and the man cringed slightly.

"Well, not really. My friends and I were riding the school bus to a field trip when it happened. We were already Aichi when the bus hit something and something barged into the bus, eating the driver. We all got out through the emergency exit but some of the benchwarmers were eaten straight away." The man started telling but he soon shivered at the memory. and for a few seconds, no one said anything. The duo looked at the stranger with worried glances.

When the moment passed, the man started talking again. "I'd rather not talk about it, actually. It's still a bit too tender, even though it has been over a month." He laughed humorless.

"Why come to Tokyo then? Couldn't you have been safer taking shelter where you were at?" Midorima asked.

The man shrugged. "The radio of the bus was still working and it said something about Tokyo. The remainder of us figured it would be safer than there, so we started walking. I was the only one who survived." The man said tiredly and Takao patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. Midorima's eye twitched slightly.

"What's your name?" Takao asked.

"Hanamiya Makoto, third year in Kyoto University. You guys?"

"Takao Kazunari and Midorima Shintarou, both second years in Tokyo Uni." Takao introduced and Hanamiya whistled.

"Damn, that's a good university."

"So is Kyoto." Midorima pointed out.

Hanamiya shrugged. "Eh, not good enough. I've actually got accepted there but it was too far from home and I didn't want to leave my friends and family so I settled for next best. Both of you smart?"

"Nope!" Takao answered with a big grin. Midorima slapped him on the back. Hanamiya laughed at the banter of the two.

"Man, you must be really close." He commented and Takao smiled once more.

"Yup, we've been friends since we were babies. Literally." Takao replied.

"No wonder. You guys seem to have a really close bond with each other. So, when did you start dating?" Hanamiya asked with a smile on his face and that comment was alone to make Midorima freeze up and make Takao start spluttering.

"What?" Both exclaimed at the same time, and Hanamiya laughed whole-heartedly.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You don't have to be so uptight about it. I'm completely fine with gays." Hanamiya said with a smile on his face.

"We're not dating." Midorima stated firmly while Takao just lingered behind. Hanamiya caught it and raised an eyebrow but said no more.

"So, have you guys been here since the whole thing started?"

Midorima nodded. "We were watching a movie when three of them barged into the house. We got rid of them, thankfully, but now we're just trying to survive. There aren't a lot of them in this area. Everyone else was at work or school while it happened so they were all away from this part of town."

"I did wonder about that. Why live so far away from the big city?" Hanamiya asked.

Takao shrugged. "We did live in the heart of Tokyo but we moved after my little sister was born." Midorima and Hanamiya could see Takao's eyes dimming at the mention of his little sister. "It was too crowded for both families and we couldn't really deal with it. Both of our families decided to live at the edge of it because it was a lot more quiet and peaceful. Kind of like the rural area, you know? We could still take our bikes and go to school, or even run for that matter, so it was fine."

"So even when you guys went to university, you would just run?" Hanamiya said incredulously.

"We were basketball players in high school." Takao said proudly.

"Which school?"

"Shuutoku." Hanamiya whistled once more.

"Damn, you guys went to the best schools, didn't you? Wasn't Shuutoku a power house?"

"Yup!" Takao said, grabbing Midorima by the arm. "All because of this person right here."

Hanamiya squinted his eyes and then widened them at the sudden realization. "No wonder your names sounded so familiar. I almost didn't recognize you because the headband and the hair cut. You guys are Shuutoku's Light and Shadow, aren't you?"

"I'm guessing you're also a basketball player?" Midorima deduced and Hanamiya nodded.

"Yeah, but we weren't that well known."

"Which school were you from?" Midorima asked but Hanamiya just shrugged, uncomfortable with answering the question.

"Kirisaki Daiichi." Midorima and Takao's eyes widened at the name. They were infamous for hurting any ace that would come into contact with the players and there was always more than one occasion where many teams had to forfeit to avoid any injuries.

Now that he thought about it, Midorima had heard of the name Hanamiya Makoto before. He didn't remember where, however, because Shuutoku had never had to worry about facing Kirisaki Daiichi; that school would always lose in the preliminary rounds in the Kansai bracket.

"You were one of the players who hurt others, weren't you?" Midorima asked bluntly and Hanamiya bit his lip.

"We had no choice. Both the coach and the captain had trained us to do so. It was their command, not mine. It's all in the past now, though. I regret doing those things when I was in high school but I can't afford that to ruin my life now. Right now, surviving is the only thing that matters to me, and I would really love it if you guys would help me out." Hanamiya said, regret deep in his tone, and Midorima softened his look. The guys looked so pitiful and he really did look extremely guilty for what he had done in the past.

"Help you how?" Takao asked, stepping up and interrupting the conversation. Hanamiya took out a black object from his pocket and they all saw a radio in his hands.

"What's it been saying?" Midorima asked and Hanamiya gave him a curious look.

"Don't you know?"

"Well, we haven't had a radio since it started. We've mostly been relying on the television news but it's all shut down. No new stuff whatsoever."

"That's because most of the news networks were completely ambushed. The static around the buildings were too loud for the things out there so they were all killed. We have to rely on radios now. Don't you guys have one?"

Takao shook his head. "We found one in the attic but it was too old to be functioning. Shin-chan didn't have one either."

"Well, you're in luck, because I got this while we were entering Shizuoka. It's been helping me ever since." He turned the radio on and immediately there was a deep voice repeating the same phrase.

 _"… I repeat, quarantine zone in Hokkaido. Anyone with a doctorate, phD, or is an expert in the field of science to come to Hokkaido for search of a cure. I repeat, quarantine zone in Hokkaido. Anyone with a doctorate, phD, or is an expert in science to come to Hokkaido for search of a cure. "_ It blared and Midorima and Takao looked at each other, hope flaring in their eyes.

"We have to go to Hokkaido." Takao said firmly and Midorima nodded. They then looked at Hanamiya and extended their hands. Hanamiya took it gratefully and with a firm shake.

"So, can you guys help me?" Hanamiya asked hopefully and Takao nodded eagerly.

"It's better than staying here, all cooped up. We were starting to run out of supplies anyways. We were going to leave, too, actually." Takao explained.

"Well, thank god I talked to you guys before you did."

"Which reminds me, how did you know we weren't infected?" Midorima asked curiously and Hanamiya tried to recall.

"I was running away from some the things when I saw two figures coming out of a house. At first I thought it was more of them and I was screwed but your movements were different. I immediately knew you guys weren't one of them."

"You're perceptive." Midorima pointed and Hanamiya shrugged.

"I guess. It wasn't that hard to tell, though. The things out there all walk and act the same way. It wasn't difficult to deduce."

"Zombies." Takao suddenly perked up.

"What?" Hanamiya turned to Takao.

"The things out there. They're zombies."

Hanamiya's eyebrows scrunched up. "Those fictional monsters? Bullshit, those are not zombies. That's all just fiction."

"But they are." Takao urged. "It all adds up though, doesn't it? The whole dying and coming back alive thing? The 'I want to eat your brains' get up? They're zombies. It's not fiction anymore."

Hanamiya sat back down, staring hard at Takao, thinking about his words. Then, his eyes widened. "It would make sense. The whole epidemic in the U.S. They always did do some crazy, conspiracy stuff behind everyone's back. Maybe one of the experiments failed and it created this, just like all those other zombie movies. Creepy. It's like those things predicted the future or something. Never did I imagine that made up monsters like zombies would actually be real now."

"I know, tell me about it. It took forever to get Shin-chan to wrap his head around the fact that zombies exist now." Takao chuckled and Midorima pushed his glasses up, not saying anything.

"Well, thanks." Hanamiya said as he stood up again. "At least now, we know how to deal with them. I've seen a couple of zombie movies myself, so I think the mechanics are the same. Just hit them in the head, right?"

"Where the brain lies." Takao simplified with a smile. "So, should we start packing for the long trip to Hokkaido?"

Both Midorima and Hanamiya nodded. "Do you have a weapon of any sort?" Midorima asked and Hanamiya shook his head.

"Just been running and avoiding the zombies all this time."

"That's amazing. You really just ran all the way up here without once killing a zombie?" Takao exclaimed and Hanamiya nodded. "Well, you don't have to worry about being killed anymore. You're going to need something sharp and pointy that you can stab with. I think a simple kitchen knife'll be fine, right?" Takao then asked while going to the kitchen, fetching Hanamiya a spare knife. Hanamiya held it in his hands once Takao gave it to him, assessing the weight of the object and nodded satisfactorily.

"Thanks, I owe you guys a lot." Hanamiya said gratefully.

"Well, for the moment, we're going to need a lot more food and water. Since we're three people, we can carry a lot of supplies with us, but other than weapons and food, we shouldn't take any more." Midorima said.

"Just take what's necessary, right, Shin-chan?" Takao smiled and Midorima looked away.

"Just start packing, Bakao." Hanamiya looked at the interaction between the two and sighed at the obliviousness of the two. They were obviously into each other and the fact that the two of them didn't know was painful to the viewer.

Takao suddenly threw Hanamiya a bag and he looked at it, confused. "What's this?"

"We're going to stop by the supermarket one more time for more water and supplies." Midorima answered. "We need you to carry some of it."

Hanamiya smiled. "Sure, leave it to me."

When everything was packed and they were all stacked up in the supermarket, the three survivors were ready.

"Thank god we have the stamina for it, right, Shin-chan?" Takao asked and Midorima harrumphed.

"Basketball practice was worth it. If we're lucky, we can get to Hokkaido in two months or so. If we have a car, even better."

"That's so long." Takao complained jokingly, but immediately but a straight face as they got ready to leave the area.

"Everything ready and packed?" Midorima asked the two people of the group nodded confidently. "Then, let's go to Hokkaido."

* * *

 **Hope you all liked it :)**

 **Peace,**

 **FlyAndDontLookBack**


	3. III

"Always?" Hanamiya asked incredulously as Takao nodded eagerly and Midorima merely pushed his glasses up.

"Yup, Shin-chan was always really smart."

"But still, to be ranked first in every grade? And you kept playing basketball? How did you have the stamina for it?"

Midorima shrugged. "My parents were always strict about education. My mother was -" Midorima immediately corrected himself, "- is a lawyer while my father's a university teacher."

"No wonder you're so uptight." Hanamiya commented and Takao had to push down a bubble of laughter at Midorima's expression.

"Ah, I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Hanamiya tried to take back his words and Takao couldn't hold it in anymore. He bursted out in laughter but stopped immediately, looking out the windows behind Hanamiya to see if there any zombies around.

They had just begun to enter the city of Tokyo, where they saw more zombies but not to an extent yet, and since the sun had begun to set, they decided to stay the night at an abandoned supermarket, which was completely emptied out. Both the glass door and the single window by the side of it were broken, so they had to barricade it with the food shelves - they used at least five to cover the door well enough to not let any zombies try to enter - and checked to see if there were any zombies inside.

Midorima then started to make a fire by breaking some of the wooden shelves, but had no idea how to make a fire.

Hanamiya had the perfect solution.

"You had a lighter?" Takao had asked and Hanamiya nodded. Midorima raised an eyebrow.

"Do you smoke?" He bluntly asked and Hanamiya gave him a sheepish smile.

"Maybe one per week."

"But you're a basketball player. It's hazardous for your health!" Midorima reprimanded, Takao agreeing from behind.

"University was stressful, ok? Get off my back." Hanamiya then said rather harshly and caught himself soon after. "Sorry, I've just had a lot of people say the same thing to me. I know how to handle myself. I'll be fine. Besides, it's not like I can smoke now." Hanamiya shrugged and as soon as the fire from the lighter touched the wood below it, it spread quickly and they all huddled to keep themselves even warmer.

Now, they were surrounding the campfire, warming some water, and were having a light banter.

"Takao, shut up!" Midorima whispered as he hit his partner on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just that your face expression was too hilarious!" Takao snickered.

"I didn't mean it that way, honest!" Hanamiya added, looking at Midorima sheepishly. "I was just trying to say that you always felt really… trustworthy? Like you could be the one to keep us all from going insane." Hanamiya explained.

"I don't think I understand." Midorima responded and Takao sighed.

"He means to say that you're like our guide, Shin-chan, someone who can lend a shoulder whenever we need it." Takao elaborate even further.

"How am I a guide?" Midorima asked skeptically. "You guys are the ones who know how to deal with the zombies in the first place."

"But you're the one who knows how to ration supplies and keep us alive. If it weren't for you, I would've emptied the entire supermarket back in Tokyo in just two weeks. You've kept me alive for more than a month."

Midorima pushed his glasses up to hid his blush. It didn't escape Takao and he smiled fondly. "It was the most rational choice to make. Even you could have done that."

"Not only that," Takao kept saying to Hanamiya, pointing at Midorima all the while, "if it weren't for him, I would've died back at the supermarket. The manager was turned and he almost bit me. Shin-chan saved me just in time and calmed me down faster than I would've imagined. He's really good with plans and thinks of the best possible paths to go through."

"Then, I have never been more glad to have you right now." Hanamiya complimented and Midorima turned away from them, knowing his face was on fire.

"You guys should sleep. I'll take first watch." Midorima changed the subject.

"In this dark night? You can barely see anything at all. Let me take the first watch." Takao intercepted. "I can see better than both of you, so it's fine."

Midorima looked like he wanted to protested but bit it back because he knew Takao was right. "Fine, wake me up in a few hours." He finally relented, making Takao feel slightly more superior.

"I can also take up watch, too, you know." Hanamiya added from behind and Takao nodded.

"Sure, you can take watch after a few hours. And then Shin-chan can take watch when the sun rises, since you can't really see very well."

"You can't see very well in the dark?" Hanamiya asked and Midorima nodded his head.

"I studied too much at night that my eyesight completely went. I need light to be able to see properly." Midorima explained, pushing his glasses up for more emphasis.

Hanamiya nodded at the explanation, and stretched his arms, looking tired. "Well, Takao-san, I'll trust you to wake me up later."

Takao saluted him. "I told you to just call me Takao. There's no need for formalities, especially at a time like this. And don't worry, I'm a bit tired myself so I'll definitely wake you up." Hanamiya smiled before going close to the fire and lying down, his breathing slowing down instantly.

Takao got ready to take the first watch, positioning himself to see both the window and door clearly. He narrowed his eyes to be able to see better in the dark, and for a while, it was so quiet that Takao completely forgot that there were other people in the room. His mind wandered, immediately going to his family first. His father was still nowhere to be found. Last he saw him, he was talking about leaving Japan for a business trip. Whether he really went to a foreign country Takao didn't know, but if that were that case, there was chance of his being alive. Takao's hope flared for a second, to think that at least one of his close relatives were alive, but he knew better than to feed off it. In this world, there was barely any chance of survival, no matter where one was.

Still, Takao couldn't help it. His fists clenched and he prayed that his father was still alive. He prayed that wherever he was, he was still human. It was a small hope, but it was enough to bring back all the negativity that had passed by. Soon enough, he was thinking about his mother and little sister.

She was only a kindergartener, for crying out loud. She was so young. She didn't have to meet that faith. He could imagine the scene now: the car halting to stop as a few zombies entered the streets, the zombies bashing the window car pane open, his mother trying to protect his little sister, failing, and leaving her to herself, not knowing what to do, panicking and calling for her mother, calling for Takao but ultimately having no one to save her in the end.

Something touched his hand and he flinched slightly. He looked down to see what it was, but the feeling was gone and was now on his face, slightly caressing his cheek. Takao, wide-eyed, saw that it was Midorima, still in lying down, but leaning over to his side, touching his cheek with his hand.

"You're crying." Midorima whispered and before Takao knew it, Midorima stood up and hugged him tightly. "Why are you crying?"

Takao couldn't respond. He merely wrapped his arms around Midorima, giving him a tight squeeze, and buried his face onto Midorima's shoulder. He shook his head a few times, and he felt Midorima give out a hefty sigh.

"It's going to be ok." Midorima comforted, patting Takao on the back soothingly. "We're going to get through this together."

Takao cried harder, his screams muffled, and for a few minutes, they stayed like that, Midorima patting his back and Takao trying to calm himself down.

Then, "I thought about my dad." Takao finally responded to Midorima's question a while back. Midorima said nothing, waiting for Takao to continue.

"He said that he had a business trip to Korea. I'm not sure if he's there right now. I don't know if he's still alive. But I gave myself hope, thinking that he still was."

"He might still be. You never know. Maybe he's safe in Korea. It's a short flight. I'm sure he got there in time. Korea might not be affected yet, and if it is, we can't immediately assume he's dead. I mean, you _are_ his son, aren't you?"

Takao laughed softly. "Yeah, he's the one who showed me horror movies in the first place. He's more of a zombie fanatic than I am."

Midorima started patting Takao's head, his fingers gently caressing Takao's greasy hair. Takao wanted to do the same but remembered Midorima had no hair left.

"Maybe your parents are still alive, too." Takao said after a moment's silence. He felt Midorima hesitating slightly. Then, the tension slipped and Midorima sighed.

"I doubt it. They barely know anything about pop culture. I'm sure they didn't make it." Midorima answered, his voice still a whisper but the despair loud and clear.

Takao detached himself from Midorima and both gazed at each other deeply. "You don't know that. Your parents are tough people. I'm sure they would smack those zombies away in an instant and they would be too scared to try again." Takao said with a smile and Midorima couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes, because my parents obviously know how to fight."

"Your mother's a lawyer, she has to fight." Takao pointed out.

"Physically, I mean. My mother's good with verbosity, not fists. Why do you think I aced my Japanese final?"

"I'm pretty sure even the teacher had to look up some words in the dictionary because of your essay."

"My mother was so proud." Both chuckled fondly, and caught in the tension, Takao unconsciously put his hands on Midorima's cheeks. He allowed it, liking the heat coming from Takao's hands.

"I still think you look better with long hair. I really liked your bangs." Takao commented, touching Midorima's scalp and enjoying the prickling sensation.

"Hmph. It's definitely better to have this hair cut, though. My bangs were too long."

"You never wanted to cut it, though."

"It was too bothersome, and too expensive. The hairstylist would always wonder how I had natural green hair and after my fifth visit, I decided not to go anymore."

"I'm sure everyone was so confused. You know, a lot of people thought you dyed your hair."

"I know. The teacher even told me to dye it back to black. My mother destroyed him."

Takao chuckled at the memory. "Yup, and he never left the house again. Your mother was brutal."

Midorima smiled softly. "Yes, she was."

Takao caressed Midorima's cheeks softly, and his fingers brushed on Midorima's impossibly long eyelashes as Midorima closed his eyes. His glasses were still on the ground, giving Takao easy access to his eyes.

"Did anyone tell you have really long eyelashes? Girls would kill for them."

"I may or may not have heard that once or twice." Midorima replied, eyes still closed.

"Well, you're going to have to hear it three more times, because you have really long eyelashes."

"I'm still not sure whether that's supposed to be a compliment."

"It is." Takao leaned forward, touching his forehead with Midorima's. "You have really pretty eyes, too, you know that?"

"Takao?" Midorima whispered, slightly questioning his motives. Even Takao had no idea what he was doing.

"Hey, Shin-chan?" Takao breathed out, staring at Midorima's darkened but still visible face. Midorima let out a short 'hm?', waiting for him to continue.

"Remember what we were talking about before this whole thing happened?"

Midorima nodded against Takao's head. "You seemed really conflicted. Are you ready to talk about it now?" He asked with a slightly worried tone.

Takao smiled and nodded. Midorima's eyes slowly opened, and amber clashed with emerald. Even in the dark, Takao's eyes shined. It was truly a beautiful color, both thought.

"Shin-chan?" Takao whispered. Midorima waited for him to continue. "I -"

Takao stopped at the last second when both heard a groaning coming from the very back. The tension in the air halted and both Takao and Midorima realized the position they were at. They jumped back from each other, eyes darting and uncomprehending, and they saw Hanamiya slowly getting up and stretching his stiff arms.

"Damn, and I was sleeping so well. Well, is it my turn to keep watch?" Hanamiya muttered while rubbing his eyes. Midorima and Takao huffed loudly, trying to get their hearts to calm down and not try to leave their bodies.

Midorima rushed to his spot, pretending that nothing happened, while Takao covered his blushing face from Hanamiya. Realization dawned on him as the scene replayed in his mind. He was about to do it. He was about to confess and possibly ruin this duo that was Midorima and Takao, the Light and Shadow.

Takao gulped before gesturing Hanamiya to come to where he was.

"Hey, thanks for waking up. I almost forgot that it was your turn to take watch." Takao said.

"I didn't even know I was going to wake up. There was a lot noise, so I didn't really have a choice." Hanamiya explained, side-glancing at Takao. Takao feigned ignorance.

"Well, thanks for taking watch. Wake Shin-chan up when it's his turn. You're going to have to give him a hard push, though. He's a heavy sleeper."

"Thanks for the tip. Have a good night's sleep." Takao started to lie down next to Midorima, who was still trying to hard to close his eyes and forget what had just happened.

"Oh, and Takao?" Hanamiya called out and Takao tilted his head in acknowledgement.

"What's up?"

"Sorry for ruining the moment. It was too awkward for me to bear it any longer." Hanamiya grinned and the two people lying down couldn't get their faces to stoop blushing.

* * *

"I think I see Saitama! Come on, we're really close!" Takao exclaimed and Hanamiya groaned in relief.

"Thank fucking lord, we're finally here. I actually didn't think we would make it."

"There were way too many zombies. I'm just glad we got out there alive." Midorima said, his voice also tired. Takao grinned, and they all kept walking towards the sign that read out 'Saitama'. It was slow progress, but at least they were getting somewhere.

"If the city of Tokyo wasn't infested with zombies, we would have gotten here in half the time. It took us three days, for crying out loud." Hanamiya complained.

"At least we didn't die." Midorima retorted.

"I know, and I'm grateful that you suggested the idea of going around the city to avoid them. But still, there could've been a easier route to follow."

"Well, it was either that or taking another route that would take us a week." Takao joined in cheerfully and Hanamiya groaned.

"Fine, I give. You guys are the ultimate duo who can't prove anyone wrong, happy?"

"Severely." Takao confirmed and quickly searched the area as they entered Saitama. It was finally quiet, no more zombies in sight. Even though Midorima was right in avoiding the heart and city of Tokyo, there were still a hoard of zombies during their trek. The battles weren't as difficult as they had imagined it to be because they were all skilled in fighting; nevertheless, once the adrenaline had disappeared, they were shaking in their socks, wondering what might have happened if they were a second too late in moving their bodies away from them.

"So, where do we go next?" Hanamiya asked, scrutinizing the forest behind Midorima to see if there was any sign of something moving. When there wasn't, he took a seat on a nearby rock and took off his battered shoe, slowly starting to rub his foot in pain.

Midorima looked up at the sky and saw that it was close to sunset. It would soon be pitch dark.

"We should probably find shelter to stay the night. We can't keep going, especially since we're all too tired and it'll be dark soon."

The two remaining in the group nodded in agreement and quickly searched for an abandoned building they could stay at. The three slowly started walking into the town and saw that almost everything had been ransacked. The supermarkets were all destroyed and the houses were starting to decay quickly, its roofs looking like they were close to falling apart.

"Damn, this town must've taken it hard, too." Takao noted as he spotted a corpse of a teenage girl sprawled on the ground.

"They were close to Tokyo, especially the border of it. I doubt anyone survived." Midorima answered, trying to avoid looking at the zombies that were lying on their own pool of dried blood.

"Hey, at least someone did a great job in wiping most of them out before we came." Takao tried to supply cheerfully.

"Don't jinx it!" Hanamiya hissed as he almost stepped on a corpse.

"I think we need to go further into the town. There's absolutely nothing here." Midorima deduced.

"But don't you think there's going to be more zombies inside? And the sun's already starting to set. We really should find a place to stay at." Hanamiya objected.

"How much food do we have left?" Midorima asked Takao and he quickly checked his sports bag. Takao's face cringed at the sight of it.

"Barely enough to get through the night. For tomorrow, I'm not sure." Takao replied morosely and Midorima cursed under his breath. He made a mental note to himself to distribute the food better next time.

"We need to get more food. If we're lucky, there might be some survivors inside Saitama that can help us. Or even better, a food market that hasn't been ransacked."

Hanamiya sighed. "I can't really talk you two out of it, can I? You guys already look so determined to get out of here."  
Takao smiled at him goofily. "Are you in?" He asked, extending his hand towards Hanamiya. he sighed once more before taking it with an equally cheerful grin. Midorima ignored their exchange and immediately set out.

"We need a map of the Japan. I can't keep relying on my own memory for the road. The farthest we've gone on a road trip is Fukushima, and even then, I was sleeping most of the time." Midorima said, trying to recall the directions with no luck.

"For the moment, we need a shelter. Let's try to find it as fast as we can before Shin-chan can't see anymore."

"I can still see." Midorima retorted weakly but Takao snorted.

"Sure, Shin-chan, sure. In any case, there might a building we can use if we go in. There has to be." The trio set out, keeping their eye open for both a shelter and zombies. The sun was slowly leaving the place, and soon enough, it was night with barely anything to see.

"I knew we should've just stayed where we were. We could have blockaded one of the places like we did last time." Hanamiya complained.

"And why didn't you suggest that before?" Midorima asked, getting irritated by Hanamiya's remarks. Takao could see that and put a hand on Midorima's shoulder. Midorima took a deep breath, knowing that getting angry wasn't going to help anything.

"Because you never gave me a chance to. You two were both so set on finding something inside the town. I've been with you guys just about a week and I know already that you're both stubborn when it comes to following plans." Hanamiya explained with a huff.

"So then, if you're complaining so much, why don't you give us a plan then? I'm all ears." Midorima replied, his eye twitching with repressed anger.

Hanamiya crossed his arms. "How about we go back and find a fucking place to stay at?" He said with a snarky voice. Midorima was about this close to getting to him. Takao stopped him before he could by patting him on the back.

"Shin-chan, calm down." Takao whispered and surged forward to Hanamiya so that he was between them. "Well, it's a better plan than any. Come on, if we run, we can get there more quickly." Takao suggested and while the other two glared at each other, they agreed with Takao and they all started running.

"Fuck, stop." Takao suddenly whispered and the two at the front immediately stopped in their steps, listening intently. Midorima squinted, unable to see anything in this darkness.

"What is it?" He whispered but Takao immediately shushed him. Then, all of them heard rustling of leaves to the right and a angry growl.

"There's about seven." Takao supplied quietly but the rustling suddenly started getting closer and closer.

"Fuck, run!" Takao shouted just as Midorima could finally see the outline of several zombies coming their way. Takao grabbed Midorima's hand and pulled him to follow, Hanamiya running right behind them.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, we need someplace to hide. Any place! Uh, Hanamiya, help!" Takao yelled.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? Just keep pulling Midorima!" Hanamiya replied back, frantically turning his head to find a somewhat safe place they could hide in. Midorima felt absolutely useless, unable to see in the dark and having Takao guide him. He wanted to help, he wanted to at least run on his own, but he knew that would've been a bad idea. He hated the fact that he was weak, but he had no choice. He had to rely on Takao.

"There, found one!" Hanamiya alerted and pointed to a building that had an enormous chunk missing at the very top. "We can hide in some of the ruins and kill them when we have the chance!"

"No you idiot! You can't see very well, and there're about seven of them. How are you going to kill them all without dying yourself first?" Midorima immediately retorted but Hanamiya didn't respond as they all ran to the place.

"Come on, we can hide behind that shelf. Takao, you're helping, right?" Hanamiya pointed and they quickly took their places, placing their bodies close to the wooden shelf that was knocked over. Takao nodded solemnly, his weapon gripped tightly.

"You can't defeat them by yourself!" Midorima hissed.

"We have no other choice! They'll detect us eventually!" Hanamiya immediately replied back and Midorima bit back his retort. "You know for a fact they can smell us. They'll know." He hissed and Takao's eyes widened at the speed the zombies came out. They were already close to the door.

"Is it just me or are the zombies getting faster every day?" Takao asked in a panic and Hanamiya patted him on the back.

"We're getting them." He said and Takao nodded. He then turned to Midorima and gave him a small smile, as if to tell him that he might not make it.

"You stay here, ok, Shin-chan? We'll be right back." Takao said, his whisper laced with hints of sorrow, and before the two could set out, Midorima grabbed Takao.

"You're not going. I'm not losing you." Midorima said, his grip on Takao's shoulder getting stronger that Takao winced slightly.

"They're getting closer." Hanamiya warned as he saw the zombies arriving at the door and trying to get through it.

"I'll be ok. Don't you trust me?" Takao asked, trying to shake free, but Midorima wasn't bugging.

"You don't even trust yourself." Midorima answered so confidently that Takao couldn't help but curse inwardly at how well they both knew each other.

"There's always a probability of dying in this kind of world, Shin-chan. But trust me, ok? I can make it out alive."

"Then let me help you!" Midorima roared unintentionally, and that was the push that got the zombies through the door, smashing through it angrily.

"Shit! Takao, hurry up and help me!" Hanamiya shouted and barged forward, providing a slight distraction while killing one of the seven zombies in the process.

Takao looked back at Hanamiya for a split second and seeing Midorima distracted, he quickly loosened his grip on Midorima and set out. Midorima tried to grab Takao's wrist but was blinded by the darkness, unable to see anything. He ended up grasping thin air, the warmth of Takao gone and into the dark.

Takao and Hanamiya were a great team, Midorima had to admit, when it came to fighting off the zombies. They both had great coordination and their nimbleness was an extreme advantage when it came to killing a zombie before going to the next. By the time Midorima could (finally) adjust his eyes to the darkness, which must've taken a few minutes, the seven zombies had fallen to the ground. In mere minutes, those two had taken down a hoard of flesh-eating zombies without making a single sound.

And they were both ok.

Takao and Hanamiya returned to where Midorima was and both sighed in relief.

Then, "What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hanamiya shouted at Midorima and punched him in the face. Both Takao and Midorima were too shocked to say anything and Hanamiya took the chance to grab Midorima by shirt and pull him up.

"You almost got us killed! Why would you fucking scream when you know that zombies are attracted to sound? Are you that much of an idiot? Did you want to fucking kill us?" Hanamiya bombarded.

"H-Hey, Hanamiya, calm down. It's not like he did it on purpose." Takao tried to intervene weakly but with a glare from the black haired man, he shut up. Hanamiya turned back to Midorima, who still seemed to be out of it.

"Not only that, you almost got _me_ killed! If it weren't for my buying you time to get a fucking grip on reality and release Takao, I could've been eaten by one of them in an instant. I can't fucking handle seven fucking zombies now, can I?"

"I was - I thought that -" Midorima tried to say but was cut off by Hanamiya immediately.

"No, you weren't thinking. Because if you were, you would've let both of us out to barricade the doors faster and not have had to deal with this bullshit."

Midorima's eyes hardened. "I didn't want anyone to die."

Hanamiya rolled his eyes. "Which is why you only grabbed Takao and not me." He retorted sarcastically. "Be honest, you don't like me, do you?"

"What?" Midorima said, surprised by the sudden imposing question.

Hanamiya grunted as he shoved Midorima to the floor. "I'm not dumb, you idiot. I can tell when someone doesn't like me. You make it painfully obvious."

"I never said that -"

"But it's written so painfully well on your face. Hey, the feeling's mutual. I don't like you either. Honestly, I think we'd be better off without you, just me and Takao."

"Hey, how dare you -" Midorima shouted back, completely appalled by not only the change in Hanamiya's personality but also his words itself.

"Don't even fucking lie to yourself, Midorima. Even you think you're useless in these situations. You're fucking blind in the dark. You'd be dead in mere seconds if it weren't for us. You'd just be a fucking burden at this point. Admit it, even you've thought about it. Relying too much on Takao because you can't fucking walk on your own. Is that really something you want? Have Takao die before you because you couldn't protect yourself?" Hanamiya crossed his arms, glaring down at a reticent Midorima, who, by the looks of it, was contemplating Hanamiya's words severely.

Hanamiya smirked at the sight of it, happy to see an egomaniac be in such a low state as this.

"I - I don't -" Midorima seemed to be at loss of words, and Hanamiya was ready to set another to completely break him when something stroke him in the face.

There was a loud wham and for a few seconds, the ambience was silent, not even subtle breathing noises breaking it.

Hanamiya pressed his hand to his stinging jaw, his eyes widening by the second.

Loud huffing, suppressed anger, filled the quiet building.

"How dare you call Shin-chan a burden?" Takao whispered, fists clenched and gaze on the floor. His right knuckle was red and flaring in the night. Hanamiya, in complete shock, said nothing, Midorima equally so.

Takao then lifted his head, facing Hanamiya, and his eyes were livid even in the darkness, his amber eyes lit like fire. "Who are you to say that Shin-chan is too weak to survive in this world? He's still living, isn't he? Aren't you forgetting all the times he's saved our sorry asses with his plans and alternative routes? If it weren't for him, we'd be walking in a fucking land mine and we'd be dead in fucking seconds. And you still have the nerve to say he's only going to weigh us down?"

Takao walked over to Midorima's hunched form and slowly helped him stand. "Hey, Shin-chan, you ok?" He asked softly. Midorima could only nod.

Takao immediately turned back to Hanamiya who was looking at the scene in silence. "This group is something worthwhile. We're all great at killing zombies but we all have our weaknesses that someone else provides instead. Shin-chan can't see in the dark, but we can, me especially, so we patch that up. I'm a fucking dunce when it comes to making plans and thinking things through, but Shin-chan is fucking genius at that, so he patches that up. You may be a jerk at times and can't seem to stop complaining, but we take it because you're a good asset to the team, so that patches that up. Where do you see the fucking burden?"

Hanamiya finally reacted by lowering his head, his bangs covering his face. "You're right." He said reluctantly, his voice filled with regret. "I never should've said something like that. I was so angry that it completely clouded my judgement." And a few seconds later, "I'm sorry."

Takao sighed, his somber face slipping off. He gave Hanamiya a tired smile, letting go of Midorima to pat Hanamiya in the back. "Yeah, I'm sorry, too."

"For what? Telling me off? That's not something to be sorry for." Hanamiya said, giving Takao a regretful smile.

"Also for punching you in the face. Kinda went overboard with that, too." Takao said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hanamiya shook if off. "I needed that anyways. Nothing to be sorry for." Hanamiya then looked at Midorima and sighed. "Sorry for saying all those unnecessary things. Takao's right. Our asses would've been fried if it weren't for you."

"Think nothing of it. I admit I'm not that well off in the dark." Midorima replied awkwardly, and for a moment, the three were extremely uncomfortable, unsure of what to do next. Then, Takao stretched his arms and let out a wholehearted yawn.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I can't take this awkwardness anymore. I think I'm going to bed. Hanamiya, can you take the first watch?"

Hanamiya nodded, though he couldn't help but groan. "Just when I was ready to lay down. I'll wake you up in a few hours."

"Or you can wake me." Midorima interrupted and Hanamiya looked at him curiously. "I mean, it must be well over 2, so the sun should rise in just a few hours. I can take the rest of the watch, and you two can get your rest. You'll need it after killing those zombies."

Hanamiya nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."

The night ended with their entering Saitama and the group slowly starting to know more about themselves, both the good and the ugly.


	4. IV

The next morning, they headed out immediately to the inside of the town of Saitama, searching for a potential map to use as a guide. The group was quiet, mostly because they didn't want to attract any zombies, but also because they all felt awkward and uncomfortable with each other after last night's incident. Even Takao seemed affected by the silence.

Midorima and Hanamiya did their best to keep their distance, never glancing at each other, and Takao was in the middle, feeling as though he was only getting smaller and smaller in this messed up group he got himself into.

Finally, Takao couldn't take it anymore. "Will you guys make up already?" He shouted and the two jumped at the sudden outburst.

"Takao, shut up!" Midorima whispered, his eyes darting from place to place to see if there were any zombies coming their way.

"No, I refuse to shut up until you make up already and get this group back together! Honestly, it was a stupid fight and you guys already apologized to each other. Why in the world are you acting like this?" Takao immediately retorted, making Midorima shut his mouth. Hanamiya said nothing, merely looking at feet. He seemed uninterested, to say the least, and it looked like he was waiting for something to happen.

"Takao, there is nothing wrong! Just shut your mouth and let's keep moving." MIdorima hissed angrily but Takao was already in his zone. He tried making Takao shut up by putting his hand over his mouth but failed when Takao licked his palm unflinchingly.

"Takao, you know I hate when you do that!" Midorima roared, his hand flying.

Takao merely glared, not caring about the outburst whatsoever. "I don't care. We are not moving until you two stop acting like little children! You're a freaking college student studying for a fucking phD, Shin-chan! You have no right to be like this. You, of all people, should know that!"

"Takao, will you shut up?" Midorima shouted, and at that moment, they all heard an angry growl just behind them. Hanamiya looked alarmed, squinting to see the zombie, and suddenly sighed in relief, making Takao's eyebrow raise for a second.

"Fuck, this is what you get for screaming!" Midorima hissed as he skillfully evaded the zombie's attack before stabbing the back of its neck with his hatchet. The zombie fell down, a quieting moan riveting the scene as it collided on the concrete street. The trio immediately searched the area for more zombies coming their way, and for a few minutes, they spent their time clearing the path and securing their safely. Each zombie fell down swiftly, and when they were sure there were none, they collapsed to the ground, tired and starving.

Hanamiya grabbed his stomach. "We really need food." He stated matter-of-factly and another grumble resonated in the barren town. Takao nodded in agreement, but didn't have the strength to get back up.

"There's got to be a place for food. Or at least something to ravage for in the buildings? I mean, that's what happens all the time in video games, doesn't it? You're always searching for supplies in abandoned buildings and everything, and it works. Let's split up and try to find something." Takao suggested, struggling to stand.

Midorima immediately objected. "You, of all people, should know that splitting up in this kind of world is practically begging for suicide."

Takao's mouth shut, knowing completely well that groups that split up would never meet up again, and if they did, they wouldn't be in one whole piece.

"I think Takao's right. We'd cover more ground, and we'd be able to get something before dark. We might even be lucky enough to get a map." Hanamiya suddenly interjected and Midorima sent him a glare. More and more, he was not trusting of Hanamiya, especially with the cold demeanor he had last night. Midorima knew he wasn't seeing the entire side of Hanamiya Makoto and he needed to get ready for anything that was going to be sent his way.

Eventually, however, Midorima had to agree with splitting up and the three went their separate ways, but not too far as to completely lose sight of one another. Midorima began with an abandoned house that was behind him. Takao and Hanamiya went further up north, and Midorima had time to see Takao going to the right and Hanamiya to the left to their own respective buildings. Midorima hoped that nothing would happen with Takao, and went inside the house himself.

The first thing he saw was a family photo hung up in the middle of the living room. There was a mother, father, and two twin boys, all with radiant smiles. Midorima's heart hurt; did they survive the apocalypse? Did they all meet the same faith? Or worse, did one family member survive and had to kill the others? Just thinking about it made him want to vomit. He didn't want to go back to the beginning of the whole incident; he didn't want to go back to when Takao refused to eat anything after killing his little sister.

Midorima closed his eyes, willing the headache and the heartache to go away, and focused on scouring for supplies. Surprisingly, the kitchen still had edible foods, mostly canned beans and peaches, much like in cliche zombie games. Had they known before that all of this would happen? If they didn't, why did they stack up so much? Were they just immense can lovers? Midorima decided not to dwell on it. Whatever family antics they had, they were gone either way.

His bag slowly filled with food, and walking up the stairs, he saw a bunkbed messily made and full of dust. He checked every nook and cranny, all the while trying to ignore the posters of famous anime characters like Naruto and Luffy the Pirate. He found several useful supplies like bandages and even a small pocket knife that had various gimmicks like a nail file and a cork screw. He took one last look in the children's room, and he couldn't help but feel sad that they were probably dead by now. Did they die together? Midorima could only hope.

The parents' room didn't have much as the twins's, so Midorima got ready to leave the house. However, once he got to the living room to make his leave, a hand lashed out behind him and covered his mouth. Midorima was shocked for a split second before reacting quickly. The man was definitely shorter than he was, maybe five centimeters from his own height, and he knew that he was stronger. These few months had surely buffed him up, even without the proper nutrients, so he easily won against the sudden stranger by twisting the arm that was close to him and making him fall to the ground with a painful shout.

Midorima glared at the man dressed in tattered clothing, so old and dirty that he could barely see if he was wearing a jacket or a long-sleeve shirt, and pressed his foot onto the man's back to restrict further movement. He grunted in pain, trying hard to suppress his voice, and Midorima leaned in closer, his hand still grabbing the twisted arm.

"Who are you?" Midorima asked calmly, just like what his mother would do during an important case. Midorima could still remember the awe he was in when his mother had calmly and expertly finished a seemingly controversial case in a mere 30 minutes, thoroughly stumping her opponent to the ground.

The man said nothing, and Midorima pressed his foot further down, applying pressure to the hand he was holding as well, and this time, the man couldn't restrain his voice. He yelped in constricted pain and Midorima raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" Midorima asked once more. The man struggled to face Midorima in the eye.

His glare was as nasty as Hanamiya's, Midorima noted. "Fuck you." The man spit out, and Midorima's face crinkled, hating the lack of manners in this person. Before he could question of the same question once more, Hanamiya and Takao rushed in to see what the commotion was about.

Midorima expected both of them to exclaim who the person was, or at least how they found another living person.

Instead, both were surprised when Hanamiya exclaimed, "Seto? Kentaro Seto?"

Midorima looked at the man on the ground in confusion before slowly letting go of the his hand and loosening his foot from his back. The man groaned as he stood up slowly, holding his back in the process, and faced Hanamiya with an equally surprised stare.

"Hanamiya Makoto? I thought - I thought you died!" Kentaro Seto, a man with a chiseled jaw, even more chiseled cheeks, and a mole right above his nose, commented in amazement. The man had black hair, much like Hanamiya and Takao, but he had a mean look on him, his eyes slit a bit far to make it seem as if he had a resting glare. He was tall, not as much as Midorima, but still taller than the average Japanese man, and his hair was all over the place, covering his eyes most of the time that he always combed back and try to keep it there, to no avail.

Takao looked at the two strangely. "You two know each other?" He asked.

Hanamiya nodded. "He's one of my friends and teammates." He said and the man stepped up.

"I'm Kentaro Seto, a student studying in Kirisaki Daiichi, and play center in the basketball team. Well, at least I used to. Now, I just try to stay alive." He introduced, completely forgetting the earlier encounter with Midorima. Takao seemed sold, greeting Kentaro with an easy grin.

"Name's Takao Kazunari, and I'm sure you met Shin-chan." Takao introduced jokingly, but while Takao seemed completely at ease with the sudden intruder, Midorima kept his glare. There was something off about the Kirisaki Daiichi students, and while he couldn't place his finger on it, he knew something bad was going to happen soon.

"Sure, we 'met'." Kentaro snorted, putting quotation marks on the word. "He straight up almost tried to break my fucking back, is what he did."

"You were the one who suddenly came out of nowhere and covered my mouth. Anyone in my situation would have done the same." Midorima defended himself strongly, crossing his hands over his chest.

Kentaro grunted. "Doesn't mean a crap if they know how to fight. Jesus, your grip is strong. Almost broke my arm, too. Completely twisted it 360 degrees, you know?" He exaggerated and Hanamiya laughed whole-heartedly.

"Damn, even after being in a state like this, you know how to joke, don't you?" Hanamiya commented, putting his arm around Kentaro's shoulders. Kentaro smiled wistfully, also putting his arm around Hanamiya, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Damn, your hair's grown. And it's all greasy, too. What? Can't take the time to wash yourself?" Kentaro joked and Hanamiya laughed once more.

"You should be talking. Your hair's all over the place. What? Can't find any more of your hair gel?" Hanamiya retorted back easily, and the two started chuckling. It wasn't hard to figure out that they were close friends.

Takao, even though he was enjoying this reunion, had to ask. "So, how did you survive?"

The conversation grew quiet, and Kentaro looked extremely pained, making Hanamiya worried. He patted Kentaro's back soothingly.

"Yeah, I want to know, too. We were all separated after the bus incident. I thought…" Hanamiya struggled to say. "I thought you had died… along with the rest." Hanamiya concluded, though it looks liked those words were extremely difficult to say.

Kentaro looked away, and Takao saw his pained look. He couldn't help but sympathize with the new guy. "I almost died, to be honest. When we got separated, I stumbled upon the woods and had to live off anything I could find. Been surviving like that for the past few months." Kentaro explained, and everyone could see just how skinny he was.

Hanamiya's eyebrows scrunched. "Wait, are you serious? You just lived in the woods with no proper food?"

Kentaro nodded tiredly. "Yeah, I didn't think it would be like that either. What did you do in the woods? How did you survive?"

Hanamiya hesitated for a second, which Midorima caught. "I didn't go to the woods. I stayed mostly close to the houses and killed any zombies that resided there. There was enough food, so I didn't have to worry that much. I had no idea you'd gone through so much." He lamented and Kentaro didn't take it too well.

"What?" He hissed, his tired stupor gone. "Are you saying that while I was struggling to survive with fucking leaves and berries, you were living it up in houses with fucking food? What happened to the plan?"

"I didn't know you'd be there! I didn't think you'd still be alive! Nobody else showed up at the meeting place. I assumed everyone had died! What was I supposed to do? Kill myself too?" Hanamiya shouted back, and Kentaro gave him a murderous glare.

Takao deemed it the perfect time to intervene. He pushed the two away from each other with a loud grunt. "Guys, calm down. Who cares what we did before meeting each other? As long as we know that we're still alive and sane, we'll be fine." He turned to Kentaro. "I admire your survival skills, Kentaro-san. You can be pretty useful when it comes to finding things like wood and berries in the woods, maybe even in the cities. We're running low on food, actually. I've found some stuff that might help us, but not nearly enough for four people to feed."

"I found a lot of food, so we're fine." Midorima cut in, opening his bag to show the big amount of canned foods he had. Takao's face brightened immediately.

"That's awesome, Shin-chan! You sure know how to pick your areas, don't you?" Takao complimented and Midorima had to push his glasses up to cover the blushing forming around his cheeks.

Ketnaro saw it nevertheless, and gave Hanamiya a pointed look, his anger forgotten. Hanamiya shrugged and gave him a cheeky grin, confirming Kentaro that yes, those two did have a thing for each other and yes, they were both still completely oblivious about it.

Kentaro cleared his throat. "In any case, I think we should find a shelter to be in." He grabbed his stomach as it groaned. "I don't think my stomach can take anymore."

Hanamiya nodded. "Yeah, and we should probably get out of here soon. We've made enough noise as it is."

"Didn't we clear the area?" Takao asked but Hanamiya shrugged.

"Better safe than sorry. Come on, we can have a light snack and if we keep walking, we might make it to the next town."

"How can you know?" Midorima asked bitterly. "We don't have a map to guide us."

"You mean this?" Kentaro suddenly said as he took out a piece of folded paper from his sweatpants. It looked like school gym pants, Midorima inspected. The green-eyed man took the folded paper from Kentaro suspiciously, making Takao frown at the action, and he opened it to reveal a whole map of Japan.

"What's our street right now?" Midorima asked, taking a closer look at Saitama and it's roads. Everyone shrugged, and Midorima sighed.

"Well," he deduced, "I don't think we'll be able to get to Tochigi by today, but maybe in two or three if we make good time."

"Tochigi?" Takao asked. "Is that the next town we have to go to?"

Midorima nodded. "It's either that or Ibaraki," He started saying, showing the map to Takao and involuntarily making them stand closer. Kentaro nudged Hanamiya, pointing his head at the two, and Hanamiya snickered softly. Then, his face grew serious, and Kentaro knew exactly what the mastermind was thinking.

"Are we really? I just got here." Kentaro whispered but Hanamiya nodded.

"I've been waiting too long for this, ok? I'm just glad I met at least someone. I really thought the plan was a goner when no one showed up. Now that you're here, we can finally go. I've had enough with those two anyways." Hanamiya replied with a sinister smile and while Kentaro sighed, he smiled as well.

"When?"

Hanamiya smirked. "When we have enough food to last a lifetime."

Unbeknownst to the two's conversation, Midorima and Takao started bickering.

"Why can't we go to Ibaraki?" Takao said.

"If we go there, then it'd take us longer to get to Hokkaido. It's curving, so it'd be like running in the outer course than the inner. You'd lose in a heartbeat." Midorima explained clearly, but Takao was reluctant.

"I still kind of want to see Ibaraki, though." Takao hinted and Midorima sighed at his antics. Even in this apocalypse, Takao was still Takao.

"We are _not_ going to Ibaraki if your only intention is to tour around the area."

"But it's a place I've never been to before!"

"You've never gone to Tochigi either!" Midorima retorted and Takao gave him a sheepish glance. Midorima crossed his arms like a child.

"Takao…" He warned and Takao rubbed the back of his head.

"We kind of went there while you were sick. Remember when we had decided to take a family trip to Hokkaido but you caught the cold?"

Midorima nodded, remembering. "You told me you would take care of me. And then you never came back." He said, a nasty glare on his face.

Takao pursed his lips. "I was going to, I swear!" Takao immediately responded. "I was going to, but my parents had already made plans to go to Tochigi, and I had no way out of it. I was going to tell you before I left but we were in a hurry to go before the traffic got bad, so I made my parents call yours. Didn't your parents say anything?"

"My parents were at their jobs then."

Takao's eyes widened slightly. Then, he rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

Midorima's head lowered. "I thought you had abandoned me." He said in a small whisper and Takao couldn't help but feel immense guilt.

He patted Midorima's back soothingly, rubbing small circles. "I'm sorry, Shin-chan. I really thought your parents had said something. Why didn't you tell me off the next day?"

"I thought you had a good reason for leaving me. I was waiting for you to say something."

"Well, isn't this just a big misunderstanding?" Takao smiled. "Glad we figured this out a few years later, Shin-chan." Takao laughed heartily and even Midorima couldn't contain a smile. Then, they went back to the map.

"We're going to Tochigi." Midorima said stubbornly and Takao raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, never was going to oppose it. Just wanted to see Ibaraki, is all."

"When we get the cure, I promise to take you there." Midorima said solemnly, and while Takao was surprised, he smiled sincerely.

"Of course." Takao agreed and called the two Kirisaki Daiichi members to them. The two seemed to be in a deep conversation, much like they had been, and Kentaro jumped slightly.

"What's up?" Hanamiya called to them and came over when Takao gestured to them.

"We've decided that Tochigi is our next stop! Let's start moving. We can find a good place to make food and not starve to our deaths." Takao said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together. Hanamiya and Kentaro had easy smiles on them, and Midorima's eyes narrowed. What exactly were they whispering to each other?

"Do you mind if I keep this map, Kentaro-san?" Midorima asked, waving the folded map. Kentaro looked hesitant for a second, but with a slight nudge from Hanamiya, which earned him another suspicious glance from Midorima, Kentaro nodded.

"Sure. You're the smart one, right?" Kentaro commented and left the house first, followed by Hanamiya. Takao waited for Midorima, and the group was then split up, the Kirisaki Daiichi students at the front, and the Tokyo students at the back.

Takao put his hands over his head. "Man, I can't believe it's only been a few months since this whole thing started. Seems like forever."

Midorima kept checking the map. "It really does."

"Hey, Shin-chan?" Takao said and Midorima looked at him curiously. "Why do you hate those two so much?"

At that, Midorima spluttered. "I don't hate them." He protested.

Takao gave him a pointed look. "Shin-chan, I've been with you for who knows how long. I think I would know if you hated someone or not. Do you not remember my last girlfriend?"

Midorima cringed. "Don't even get me started. I still don't know why you dated her. She was squeaky, loud, clingy…" Midorima shuddered. "Everything a person doesn't want."

"Takao smiled. "Well, hey, i dumped her a few months later anyways."

"Too long." Midorima whispered to himself, but Takao caught it and he shrugged.

"Anyways, why do you hate Hanamiya and Kentaro-kun? They seem like really good people."

"You see good in everyone, Takao. Those two," Midorima glanced at them for a second, "have something weird going on. We can't be too sure that they're immediately our friends. And their background seems off, too. I mean, even you have to admit that Hanamiya's personality's not the same from when we first met."

"Well, we were all stressed out and the adrenaline was dying out. It's a typical human reaction."

Midorima wasn't convinced. "Takao, you really shouldn't trust so easily. You don't know what they might do to betray us."

Takao suddenly got angry. "I really don't think we have the right to say that. Us humans need to stick together in times like these. Are you trying to say that we should leave them before they may or may not leave us?"

With the long glance from Midorima, Takao hit the nail on the wall. "I'm just saying we need to be careful. We don't know what might happen."

"You'll look like a complete idiot if that never happens, Shin-chan."

Midorima shrugged. "I'll take my chances. My mother was a master face reader, you know?"

Takao remembered and he shuddered. "Don't remind me. There were more times than I can count where I could've gotten away with it had it not been for your mom."

Midorima gave him a small smile. "We did a lot of things when we were young, didn't we?"

Takao smiled as well, previous anger disappearing. He never really could get angry at Midorima, and while he was feeling doubtful of Midorima's words, he couldn't really rule it out as well. Midorima had learned a thing or two from his mother, and when Midorima said something was off, it always was.

Still, he refused to believe that the Kirisaki Daiichi members were cruel people. They, just like Midorima and Takao, was just living in hell.

"Do you think we can make it to Hokkaido?" Midorima then asked doubtfully, breaking the moment's silence.

Takao's face was covered in doubt as well. "Why do you say that? Of course we will. We have to."

Midorima shrugged. "All zombie movies have something go wrong in the end, don't they? Who's to say that it won't happen to us as well?"

"Because this is the real world, Shin-chan. All zombie movies needed to put those 'everything is going wrong' scenes because that's what makes them dramatic. It's not going to happen to us if we go about this calmly."

"How are you so sure that we're going to make it out alive?" Midorima asked, uncertainty flicking over him too many times to count.

Takao suddenly hugged him, making Midorima stop at the suddenness of the action, and while he didn't return the hug, he felt so much secure now.

"Because we have each other. I don't think anything can go wrong when the two of us are together."

* * *

It wasn't long until they found a good place to settle. Kentaro looked close to passing out, and collapsed on the hard marble floor before anyone could catch him. Hanamiya immediately rushed to him, slapping his face gently to wake him up, and ordered Takao to start the fire. It was still the afternoon, maybe going towards evening, but everyone thought it was the perfect spot to stay in before moving forward. Not only that, one of them was already passed out so they couldn't do much anyways.

"I had no idea he was _this_ skinny." Hanamiya lamented, pure guilt in his eyes.

"He's a survivor. That's all that matters." Takao said, lighting up the wood that they had gathered while arriving. It had definitely taken some time; no one knew how to chop down wood and they had to scour for broken twigs and potential logs. Had it not been for Kentaro, it definitely would have taken them the entire night. For that, both Takao and Midorima was grateful.

"Look for dirt that's moist. It normally means that there's going to be at least some broken branches. It may not be much but if you get enough, it's the same as having piles of wood." Kentaro had said, touching the ground and feeling the dirt. And surprisingly enough, once they found moist ground, there were various branches lying on the dirt, just waiting to be picked up.

"That's amazing." Takao had commented, amazed, and Kentaro had had a smug look on his face, though it immediately disappeared when he swayed a bit from the hunger.

"Sorry, I think I need to eat something soon." Kentaro had looked very close to going unconscious, which worried Hanamiya extremely.

"Let's get all the branches and go find a spot to start the fire. He can't hold on much longer."

"And yet you were in houses, living the time of your life." Kentaro had then said, his voice slightly drowsy. Hanamiya couldn't even retort him back.

"I got the fire." Takao called out and Midorima took out one of the many cans in his bag. It was beans, which looked very unsatisfying, but they couldn't complain. Food was food.

Midorima got a long branch, which he then tied the can onto with Takao's head band, and thrust it to the fire, letting the open can bubble. A few minutes later, Takao deemed it ready to eat, and Hanamiya slapped Kentaro hard to wake him. He jolted awake, and looked close to murdering Hanamiya.

"What the fuck, that hurt!" Kentaro hissed but Hanamiya pointed to the fire, and the anger he had harbored faded away, desire and desperation marring his face.

"I -" His stomach cut him off, letting off a ginormous growl, and Takao rushed over to him, giving him at least half of the beans. Kentaro had no thought, and to be honest, having someone as thin as him eat was a blessing to the others.

It was wasn't until most of the beans were gone that Kentaro finally realized his mistake. "Shit, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking and I-"

Hanamiya cut him off. "Just eat the rest. We've started on the others already." He said, pushing the can back to his friend. Kentaro looked extremely guilty, but after seeing other cans being cooked in the fire by Midorima, he took the food back.

"Thank you for the food." Kentaro whispered with remorse and took more time in finishing. The others took their time as well, equally dividing the food to fill their stomachs. When they were all finished, everyone huddled close to the fire. It was now fall, slowly but surely turning into winter, and they could start to feel the chill air.

"Do you feel better now?" Hanamiya asked and Kentaro nodded.

"I haven't felt this good since we won our high school match." Kentaro replied with a smile on his face and Hanamiya couldn't help but smile as well at the memory.

"Who were you up against?" Takao asked curiously.

"I think it was Seirin, wasn't it?" Kentaro said, turning to Hanamiya for confirmation. Said person nodded as he grinned.

"One of the best we executed."

"Seirin… Wasn't that one of the dark horses during high school? We played against them once, didn't we?" Takao asked to Midorima, his eyes scrunching while he struggled to remember.

"We did. They beat us once, didn't they?" Midorima said with a sour face. Takao laughed as he hit Midorima's back jokingly.

"Hey, it was because of them that we got stronger, didn't we?"

"Seirin was a formidable foe." Midorima agreed, and sighed in relief as the fire gave him more warmth. Takao's presence helped as well.

"So, how did you two meet?" Takao suddenly asked the Kirisaki Daiichi students.

Hanamiya tilted his head, trying to remember. "Jesus, it's been so long. Wasn't it in the beginning of high school?" He questioned Kentaro and he nodded.

"Yeah, we were put in the same class and I was a cocky ass bastard. I had heard about Hanamiya back in middle school, how he was one of the smartest kids on the block, so I wanted to challenge him. I was really arrogant back then, so I thought that I was the smartest, but I got my ass kicked so badly in chess." He laughed, remembering the memory fondly, and it scared Kentaro how easily he was getting attached Midorima and Takao.

Hanamiya's eyes narrowed as he nudged Kentaro slightly. He straightened up, all pity gone in his eyes.

"So, you became friends after he beat you in chess? That's very anti-climactic." Takao commented and Kentaro laughed.

"Well, obviously I was too prideful after that. I kept challenging him for a rematch and later I realized that I had no chance in winning in the first place. He memorized my entire moves even after seeing it for the first time, which made it completely unfair."

"You memorized everything?" Midorima asked Hanamiya and he nodded.

"I guess you can say I have a photographic memory." Hanamiya shrugged.

"It's pretty much how we could win most of our matches. This guy here," Kentaro gave Hanamiya a friendly push, "would memorize our opponent's play and develop a strategy against it in a flash."

"But I knew that I couldn't do it alone, which is why I asked Kentaro to play basketball with me. I knew he was smart too, so it we were a perfect duo. I would make the strategy and he would help me carry it out in the court because he was the most familiar with it." Hanamiya further explained and gave the others a cheeky grin when he saw their disbelief.

A moment later, after the knowledge sank in, Takao began to lie down on the floor, still pretty close to the fire. "So, basketball brought you guys together? That's amazing."

"We never would've become friends if we didn't play together." Kentaro said. "Though it _is_ hard to deal with a cocky bastard like him sometimes."

"Hey, when was I the cocky one?" Hanamiya said in joking offense.

"Please, the amount of sass you had against our teachers, even in university, is insane. You should've seen the guy." Kentaro commented, and when he saw the others giving him a curious look, he shot Hanamiya a mischievous smile.

"Don't you fucking dare." Hanamiya pushed his friend, but Kentaro was laughing.

"There was even a time when he sassed our math teacher in college, and she had a reputation for giving her hated students bad grades regardless of how they really did, and he almost couldn't move to the next grade because she kept failing him."

"That hag was a complete bitch. I just pointed out a mistake she did and the next thing you know, I'm called in by my counselor, telling me I'm failing at the one thing I'm perfect at." Hanamiya huffed.

"You didn't just point it out, you made her look as if she was the idiot and you were the genius!" Kentaro laughed, and Hanamiya scoffed.

"She _was_ the idiot."

Kentaro patted Hanamiya's back. "Sure she was, Hanamiya. Sure she was." The building erupted with laughter and they weren't worried this time about any zombies coming in because they had all made sure that they killed every last one of them in the area.

"So," Kentaro then began, "how did you two meet? You seem very _close_ to each other." Hanamiya smirked at the implied message, which unsurprisingly, neither of them got.

"We've been together since birth. We've been inseparable ever since." Takao counted with a soft smile and even Midorima couldn't hide his own.

"Both our parents were really good friends and we were born in the same year, so it was kind of obvious we would be stuck to each other."

"It was a complete pain." Midorima interrupted.

"Hey, I'm hurt, Shin-chan!" Takao feigned heartbreak, but laughed cheerily. "If it weren't for me, we never would've had our wacky adventures together!"

"Wacky adventures? I had to jump off a cliff because of you!" Midorima accused but Takao laughed because they both knew he wasn't being serious. When they had jumped off the cliff, it was a thrilling ride, and Midorima actually wanted to do it again afterwards.

"Cliff? Why a cliff?" Kentaro asked curiously.

Takao shrugged. "I always liked doing dangerous stuff, and I would always bring Shin-chan with me. He's the one who wanted to do it again though, so you have no right to complain!" Takao pointed out, and Midorima looked away with his arms crossed.

Takao started laughing once more. "Lighten up, Shin-chan! It was a fun time."

Midorima shedded his strict behavior and allowed himself to smile. "I guess it was."

Hanamiya and Kentaro looked at each other with a knowing look, and Hanamiya even raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Jesus, get a room." Hanamiya called out, and the two Tokyo students blushed.

"We're not together." Midorima protested, though Takao was reticent. Kentaro noticed and walked over to Takao. He started yawning, tired from a day's work and also to get some night's rest before executing their plan, and patted Takao on the shoulder.

"You'll get there." He encouraged, completely unlike himself, and while Takao blushed harder, he nodded solemnly. Kentaro smiled inwardly, glad to see someone even in this world have that much hope and determination. He wished he had some himself.

"Well, I'm going to sleep. See you guys tomorrow." Kentaro said before bidding them all a farewell, and the moment his head hit the ground, he was out.

The only ones left was Takao, Midorima, and Hanamiya. They were all quiet for a few moments, comfortable with the silence, and Hanamiya went over to Midorima's bag, which was full of food.

"Where did you get all this, anyways?" Hanamiya asked, obviously impressed.

Midorima shrugged. "You'd be surprised how much you can find in houses if you look hard enough."

"Wasn't it hard, though? Going through their stuff?"

Midorima lowered his head in guilt. "It gets better after you convince yourself that they won't need it. They've probably all been gone a long time ago."

Hanamiya nodded, understanding his pain completely, but still steeled himself away from the duo. It was a good time, being with them, but Hanamiya wasn't going to let a few emotions take over his own survival. No one else mattered except for him, and maybe even Kentaro. The two could survive on their own; they had already proven their worth a long time ago, but for Hanamiya, he was a selfish man, and he needed to go.

"The bag's completely full. It could last a lifetime if you proportioned it correctly." Hanamiya noted. The others nodded in agreement.

"Thank god Shin-chan can think one step ahead of us, right?" Takao said drowsily, his eyes slowly closing.

"Yeah, you're a smart one. You really need to get to Hokkaido, don't you?"

MIdorima shrugged. "It's the only quarantine zone left. We all need to."

"But you _really_ need to, don't you? Takao told me you were studying for a phD. Already ahead of all your classmates. You think you make a cure for the world?"

"I don't know. I'd have to go there first before trying anything."

"You can do it, Shin-chan." Takao suddenly interjected, though he was close to sleeping like a corpse. "I know you can. You always do miracles." And Takao's eyes finally closed, as if they would never open again.

Midorima blushed at his words, and Hanamiya noted it. "You like him, don't you?" He whispered and Midorima spluttered at the sudden comment.

"Why would you think that?" Midorima tried to feign ignorance but with the look Hanamiya gave him, Midorima had to sigh.

"I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it really so disgusting to you, to like a person of the same sex?"

"No!" Midorima rejected quickly. "I mean, no." He then said with a calmer voice. "I don't have any hate against the LGBT community. I think it's perfectly fine to love someone of whatever gender…" Midorima trailed off, trying to look for the right words.

"But…?" Hanamiya asked, pushing his forward.

"It's just… Takao is one of the closest people I can ever have. Even my parents weren't as close to me as Takao was. I don't want to lose him because of my stupid feelings."

"But -" Hanamiya tried to cut off, but Midorima didn't let him.

"I'm doing my best to crush them, and I think I'm succeeding. I can do it, and I refuse to let my feelings ruin the bond we've made."

There was a silence, and Hanamiya was close to telling Midorima about Takao's true feelings. Instead, Midorima walked to the front of the building, reticent and unapproachable.

"I'll wake you up when it's your turn to watch." He said and saw the sun going down low enough to make the scenery into a midnight purple. It was beautiful, a scenery Midorima missed. Hanamiya decided to leave him be. It wasn't his place to butt into a relationship he had no connection with. He had faith that they would work it out sooner or later. Their feelings for each other was too strong for both of them to ignore.

Hanamiya sighed as he lied down on the floor but warm ground, and steeled his mind and body for the escape that would occur when he would be woken up. He was sure that if it had not been for the faithful meeting with Kentaro, he never would've left.

A leech, Hanamiya thought before he closed his eyes, as he saw something crawling at the bottom of a rotten wooden table. It crawled slowly, as if it were injured, and Hanamiya could even detect some of the blood that the bug left behind. It crawled slowly to a dark shadow in front of it and by the way it started to stand up, it looked like it was going to eat it viciously.

A blood leech, Hanamiya concluded and he couldn't help but smile darkly. How ironic.

* * *

Takao didn't want to wake up. He was exhausted, and there was nothing more he wanted to do than to go back to sleep on the comfortable ground, next to the fire. He wanted no noise, no distraction, and no fear. He just wanted to sleep. He didn't want to wake up.

But he was unfortunately alert as well. His eyes were not the only senses that was developed at a young age. He, just like normal hawks, had a great hearing, which definitely helped him in a zombie apocalypse. Yet now, just when he wanted to get some rest, his ears refused to shut down. There was some rustling and whispering, objects clanking together, and making pretty much the loudest alarm Takao ever heard.

His eyes flew open, and while his body refused to move, he cursed himself inwardly for waking up so early. It wasn't his watch yet; if it were, Hanamiya would have woken him up with a shake. There was no shake, just loud sounds.

The whisperings didn't stop, and Takao zoned in, trying to see who it was. Was it a new person who hadn't turned? Was it a group ready to steal from them? At that thought, Takao's body turned rigid and his breathing turned faster. All the supplies Midorima had painstakingly found, just taken away from them?

He was about to react. He was about to stand up and kick the shit out of the person who was trying to steal from them. But then, he could finally hear the whispers clearly, and he could recognize those voices anymore.

An elephant never forgot.

"Close the bag and let's get out of here. I think we made enough noise as it is." Hanamiya whispered harshly.

"You try to stay quiet with cans bumping all over the place. You think I _wanted_ to make noise?" Kentaro retorted back equally as harsh.

"Fuck, let's just go before one of them wakes up."

"And if they track us down? Why can't we be here anyways? It's not like it's doing anyone any harm. It's actually fucking helping us." Kentaro tried to reason.

Hanamiya scoffed. "So now you're feeling sympathy for these lovebirds? You know their feelings are going to get in the way sooner or later. Just recently, I almost fucking died because of that grass head. We don't owe them anything."

"They gave me food."

"We have all their food now. Now, are you coming or not?" Hanamiya asked and after a slight hesitation, Takao started hearing shuffling that quickly faded away.

He jumped before he couldn't hear it anymore. "Where are you guys going?" He asked in surprise and small dread settling inside him.

Kentaro and Hanamiya jumped at the sudden intrusion, and Takao searched for Midorima, who was deeply asleep. "Takao, I didn't know you were awake. It's not your turn to take watch." Hanamiya said casually, as if nothing was wrong.

Takao looked Kentaro's side, which had Midorima's bag. It looked heavy and full, and when Kentaro shifted slightly, Takao could distinctly hear the clanking of the various cans Midorima had scavenged. "Why do you have Shin-chan's bag?" He asked, hoping that what he was thinking wasn't true.

"We were just going for a walk." Kentaro said smoothly, looking at the hawk-eyed man with an unreadable glint in his eye.

"It doesn't answer my question, though. Why do you have Shin-chan's bag? And why does it look full?" Takao sauntered up to them and snatched the bag away from Kentaro before anyone could react. He ripped open the bag and saw to his horror that all the food they had had was packed.

"This is all we have." Takao said with his eyes widening. "You were going to take it from us, weren't you?" He started moving backward, ready to flee, but Hanamiya marched up to him and pushed him down hard. Takao fell to the ground and gasped out in pain.

Hanamiya took the bag away from him with a glare. "Listen, boy. It's all or nothing in this world. Every man for himself. Thanks for helping us out, but we've overstayed." Hanamiya hissed with a tone of voice Takao never knew he had. He was in shock and no words could come out.

"Kentaro, let's go." Hanamiya said as he walked out the door, and Kentaro, with a side glance, left as well.

And yet, Takao couldn't let it go. His trust was betrayed and their hard work was gone. How could he let it go that easily?

"Hey, where the fuck do you think you fuckers are going?" Takao yelled as loud as he could, loud enough to make Midorima startle awake.

"Wh- Takao what are you -" Midorima started to ask, but then saw Takao's angry look and immediately noticed two people missing. He pieced two and two together quite easily, and he jumped up, running after the betrayers. Takao was just behind him.

"Give us back our fucking food!" Takao shouted, loud enough to let the entire neighborhood hear, and while Midorima would normally tell him to be more careful, he was too enraged to say anything.

It was a chase and a hard one at that. Both had disadvantages as Midorima couldn't see in the dark and Kentaro was slowed down by the weight of the bag. Takao rushed forward to get to Kentaro, but Hanamiya was waiting for him, and before Takao could grab the bag, Hanamiya punched him in the face.

Takao flew back, holding his jaw more from shock than pain, and Hanamiya humphed before pushing Kentaro to start running again. It wasn't a second after that Takao followed.

"I fucking trusted you!"

No response.

"We helped you when you asked for it! Why are you doing this now?"

No response. A small growl, an insignificant growl, could be heard in the distance. It seemed far away, too far away to even notice.

"Find your own fucking food! You can do it! Why are you taking ours?"

"Takao, wait!" Midorima shouted behind him, stumbling blindly in the dark. Takao, though he so willingly wanted to go after them, knew just how weak Midorima was against the dark. He would be extremely vulnerable if Takao wasn't there for him.

"We can find more food. Just let them go." Midorima called out, and Takao, so reluctantly, came back to assist his best friend. He was wandering blindly, almost bumping into trees in the sidelines.

"Those fucking bastards." Takao growled once they were reunited.

Midorima merely sighed. "Just let it go. We can find other food, it's fine. If I could find that much this time, I can do it next time, too."

"But you took so much time in gathering it, Shin-chan, and they just took it away from you!" Takao huffed, annoyed and exasperated.

Midorima patted him on the shoulder. "It's ok. Let's just go. We made enough noise as it is." He said, but right when he said that, they both heard a scream piecing the midnight sky. The two looked at each other for a brief second before running towards that direction, Takao's hand slipping into Midorima's unconsciously.

As they got closer, they couldn't ignore the loudening growls.

"Get the fuck away from us!" Hanamiya's voice was carried in the wind, followed by painful shrieking.

"Get them away from me! Oh fuck, get them away!" Kentaro cried out and once Midorima and Takao reached them, they couldn't help but take a few steps back. In front of them were a hoard of zombies, all wanting the taste of human flesh, surrounding the two Kirisaki Daiichi members at an alarming rate. Hanamiya was slightly out of it, but while other zombies took notice of him, the main attraction was the person in the middle, Kentaro Seto.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Kentaro shrieked as another one bit him. He killed it immediately after but another one quickly took his place. Hanamiya himself was doing his best to fend himself from the zombies, all the while screaming to get them away from his friend.

Takao didn't have any thought whatsoever when he surged forward and whacked a zombie that was going for Hanamiya's exposed neck. Hanamiya looked at the hawk-eyed man in surprise, silently asking him why he would help a man like him, and while Takao didn't say anything, he made the silence speak for itself.

Midorima followed afterwards, finally getting some light from the full moon, and began to expertly kill every zombie that came to him. He was getting into his zone, much like in basketball when he felt his passion and determination flow through his body, and green lightning flashed before his eyes as he hacked through almost every one of them. He didn't know why he was determined to help a man who had betrayed their trust, but Takao's words flew across him.

Humans should always stick together at times of needs.

Takao and Hanamiya helped out, though most of the kills were from Midorima himself. And when the last few of them were wiped out, and Midorima got out of his zone, the green lightning slowly fading and his tired breathings substituting the once emanating growls, Hanamiya had to grasp his mouth with both hands in horror.

"Seto… Oh god, Seto." Hanamiya whispered, his eyes wide and his arms trembling. His hands grasped his face even harder, to the point where his cheeks were completely sucked into the hardening grip of his fingers, and it looked like he was trying so hard to suppress a scream. Midorima and Takao had to look away. Kentaro Seto was now nothing but a pile of ripped human flesh, his organs spilling onto the ground, his face turned to the side but eyeballs popping out, and his entire body marred with viciously ripped out teeth marks. His body was too tattered to be able to resurrect; there was nothing left for him _to_ resurrect.

Then, Takao saw Hanamiya's shoulder and gasped. Hanamiya, too preoccupied, didn't notice, and merely kept whispering Kentaro's first name in grief.

"I didn't know this would happen. I didn't know." He repeated various times, and Takao tapped Midorima on the shoulder, pointing to the shocked man. Midorima raised his eyebrow in confusion before seeing what Takao saw. He bit his lip at the revelation, and grabbed Hanamiya by the shoulders to shake him out of his shock.

"Let go of me, you fucker!" Hanamiya screamed but the night was cold and dead, much like Kentaro himself. Midorima didn't let go; instead, he lowered his hand from Hanamiya's right shoulder and Hanamiya gave his body a sideways glance before his eyes, already wide, grew wider and he collapsed to the ground, right next to his once living friend.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck." Hanamiya whispered terribly, and Takao couldn't help but blame himself for being too loud at the dead of night. He kneeled down next to Hanamiya but he immediately looked away, covering the view of Hanamiya's bitten, exposed shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." Takao said, sorrow lacing his voice. Hanamiya merely glared at him, and there were tears falling down his cheeks.

"What's there to be sorry for? I'm fucking dead as it is." Hanamiya sneered and touched the bite mark tenderly. He winced slightly and bit his lip at the prediction of his outcome, his deadfall.

"Why did you leave us?" Takao asked sorrowfully. "This would've never happened if you guys had just stayed with us. We could have all made it." All eyes went back to the tattered skin unconsciously and everyone looked away at once.

Hanamiya refused to look at Takao. "Every man for himself." He quoted himself but gave a bitter laugh. "There was no way we could've all made it. Seto and I could've made it on our own." Another cold laugh. "Thanks, bastard. If it weren't for your screaming the entire fucking time, this never would've happened." He then blamed and Takao's eyes widened in shock.

"Hey, what the fuck are you saying? Takao did nothing." Midorima interrupted, unable to contain himself. Takao looked lost and confused, but mostly, guilty out of his mind. Midorima hated seeing that side of him. Takao was always like this; he would always blame himself.

"It was you who started this whole thing. If you hadn't left, you and Kentaro could've still been alive." Midorima said, but quickly regretted his words and Hanamiya flashed him an angry glare.

"Well, whoop-dee-do, Mr. I Have to be Right at Everything. Guess who's dying now? This fucking bastard right here." Hanamiya said sarcastically, but no one could take him seriously with more tears falling to the ground beside him.

Hanamiya then sighed. "Fuck it, I'm a dead man anyways." He told himself and smacked Takao's back hard. Takao snapped out of his stupor and looked at Hanamiya in surprise. The two looked at each other intensely and after a moment, Hanamiya's glance lowered to Takao's hand where his weapon was tightly gripped.

"Kill me." Hanamiya said. Two words; simple, clear, and ever so horrifying.

Takao was silent for a few seconds. Then, "What?" He spluttered incoherently.

Hanamiya wasn't fazed. "Kill me. I'm going to die anyways. What's the point in delaying?"

"We could get the cure! If we're quick, we can go to Hokkaido and find something to help! I mean—"

Hanamiya cut him off. "What makes you think I'll be able to survive that long? You should know this, Takao. Those who are bitten never survive."

"But those were games and movies! We never know if it's going to happen in real life! Don't give up hope, we can still do this!" Takao tried to persuade but Midorima knew Hanamiya had made up his mind a long time ago. He walked towards Takao and blocked his view from Hanamiya by getting in between them.

"I'll do it." He said, trying to put his hand on Takao's shoulder, but Hanamiya stopped him.

"Why should the one person I hate do the honors of killing me? I want Takao to do it."

"You just want to torture him, don't you?" Midorima hissed and judging by the cynical smile Hanamiya gave him, he was right.

"I want Takao to do it." He repeated, smile gone.

"He's had enough as it is."

"I want Takao to do it."

"You bastard, you think I'm going to—"

"Shin-chan." Takao interrupted, and Midorima turned around to see his hawk eyes iron-steeled.

"I'll do it." He said, voice now toneless.

"But Takao, he-"

"He asked me to do it. It's what you want, isn't it?" Takao asked, peering over Midorima's body and meeting Hanamiya's gaze. The black haired man gave Takao a solemn nod and Takao stood up slowly, his weapon at his hand.

Midorima was reluctant to move away from his spot. Takao was merely playing into Hanamiya's disgusting plan, but even he knew that persuading Takao when he had his iron eyes was useless. Takao would never back down now.

In a swift second, with a muted crack, Hanamiya fell to the ground, next to his friend, and blood began pouring out of the deep hole Takao made on his head. Takao walked away without another glance. Midorima looked at the two corpses once before following behind.

The night was slowly starting to change into a blood orange, and Midorima didn't need Takao's help anymore to get through the streets. He caught up to him in a jog, and glanced at his reticent friend before asking,

"You knew he was doing it to hurt you even more, didn't you?"

Takao was silent for a second, and his fists clenched white. "I murdered a human being."

"You killed a zombie. A turning one, at least."

"He could've had a chance."

"He never would have made it to Hokkaido with that bite mark."

"He was unsatisfied. He wanted to live."

"He died peacefully next to his best friend."

Takao said nothing after that, but his fists slowly uncurled, and it was until after they made it back to their base that Takao leaned into Midorima, clutched his shirt, and began to cry. Midorima, feeling the deja vu, hugged him tenderly, and waited until Takao's breathing slowed and fell asleep.

* * *

 **Hanamiya is done for (I don't know whether to be happy or sad) and we'll soon move on to the next few sets of characters.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and please await the next chapter!**

 **Peace,**

 **FlyAndDontLookBack**


	5. V

**A Christmas fucking miracle, I swear to god.**

 **I apologize for not uploading this one and thank you for everyone's whose read and commented thus far :)**

 **Without further ado, here is the next chapter!**

* * *

Midorima let Takao sleep for a few more hours. During which, he ran through the area, checking to see if there were any zombies lurking about. He needed to find food before both of them starved to death. Midorima's bag was gone, along with all the canned food he had found, and they needed to eat something soon.

When he was sure there was none in the area, and because he knew Takao had sharp ears, he left him for a few minutes, searching for supplies if possible and taking Takao's sports bag with him. He first checked the spot where Hanamiya and Kentaro had died, hoping that he would find his bag, and thankfully, while he didn't find the actual bag, there were still some canned food fallen down and untouched.

Midorima glanced down for a second and cringed. Their bodies were rotting already, and flies were swarming the ground. Midorima tried to shoo them away, give them some peace in the afterlife, but while he couldn't do so, he couldn't help but smile pitifully when he saw Hanamiya's intact hand close to Kentaro's torn one. He didn't know who had done that, but he was grateful that the person knew just how close they were.

Next, he walked back to where Takao was, and searched around the area. There were a few buildings next to it, and though he couldn't find any food, he could find some health kits and even some untainted water, to which he was grateful for.

He looked at his watch, and clicked his mouth when he saw it was broken with a large crack in going through the middle. How long had it been since he left Takao? Was he awake? Midorima didn't even want to think about the last question, so he ran back.

"Shin-chan!" Takao called out in panic as Midorima entered. He threw Takao's sports bag and rushed to Takao to give him a hug. Takao looked horrible; his face was complete mess. His eyes, still red from crying a long time, were swollen and crusted over. But what got to Midorima was the look he had; it looked like pure anguish. Takao was still blaming himself.

"Where did you go? You weren't there when I woke up, so I thought -" Takao cut himself off, biting his lip and snuggling closer to Midorima. He was shivering, Midorima noted, though it was still autumn and the wind was barely blowing anymore.

"Sorry, I was trying to get more food."

"So you were the one who took my bag? I thought someone had taken it."

"Who would take it? It's only us now." Midorima said, and Takao looked extremely guilty.

"It's only us now." Takao murmured against Midorima's chest, and he clutched Midorima tighter.

"Come on, I found some peaches we can eat to give us energy. If we walk without any interruption, we'll be able to go Tochigi before the day ends. I'm sure we'll be able to find more supplies there."

Midorima stood up, helping Takao in the process, and Takao slowly loosened his grip from his friend. "Do you think they'll be people there, too?"

Midorima shrugged. "Who knows? If there are, we'll be sure to help them."

Takao nodded gloomily, and they both made their way to Tochigi, hopefully without any zombies to hinder their path.

* * *

"Excuse me, can you help us?" A voice resonated and the duo turned around to see a spiky black haired man with a torn and dirty puffy jacket and a few bandages on his arm. He looked distressed and walked up to them slowly.

"You _are_ human, right?" The man asked carefully, making sure not to make loud noises. Midorima nodded subtly, and the man walked over to them, though he still seemed hesitant.

"Please help us." The man then said as fell to his knees, his hands together, and head lowered. Takao and Midorima looked at the man in confusion and shock, and Takao hastily went to him and made him stand up.

"We would help either way. You don't have to beg. What's the matter?" Takao said, uncomfortable with a person kneeling in front go them. He definitely looked older than they, which made it even worse.

The man looked conflicted and swarmed with grief. "My friend… My kohai, to be more exact, he's hurt, and I don't know a thing about first aid. Please, help us."

Midorima nodded. "Show me to him. I'll do what I can."

Takao was right next to him. "You're lucky you ran into us. Shin-chan here was studying to become a doctor while we were still in university, so he knows about these kinds of things."

The man, who had once looked like he had lost all hope, brightened significantly. "Are you serious? Thank you, thank you so much." The man repeated, holding Midorima's hand with his two hands.

The man began to lead them through the dark. The fire they had made was forgotten as Midorima and Takao packed the only bag they now had and followed the stranger. It extinguished by itself when they opened the door from their shelter and the wind blew it away.

"Damn, it's getting pretty cold, isn't it?" Takao asked as he hugged himself to protect him from the cold. Midorima and the man nodded.

"It must be winter now. Shit, it's going to get real hard to survive when the snow hits." The man commented dreadfully. The duo couldn't help but agree.

When they arrived, they found that the man also had a fire going, and there was another man close to it, almost as if he wanted to kiss the flames. He had a handsome face, and it would have been more evident had he not had his face so scrunched up in pain. The fire made his blond hair radiate even more, and he had long legs, a model's legs. He was holding his arm tightly, and it looked like took all his willpower not to screech out.

"Kise, I found someone who can help us. Come on, show him your arm." The man rushed over to the other, and one lying on the ground, painfully opened his eye.

"Senpai?" He whispered and the black haired man nodded, holding his head gently.

"I'm here." He reassured and Kise, the blond haired man, meekly grabbed tried to grab the other's arm.

"Don't leave me again." He said weakly, and the stranger bit his lip, nodding.

"I'm sorry. I'm here now, don't worry." He reassured, and he gestured Midorima to come over.

"Kise, show him your arm. He can help." The man said and Kise, barely glancing at Midorima, reluctantly removed his hand from his arm. Midorima and Takao both saw a great rip on his skin that was crusted over with dried blood. He scrutinized it as much as he could, or as much as the fire could let him, and he ordered Takao to take out the first aid kit they had found before entering Tochigi.

The man looked surprised by the supplies they had, but said nothing, holding Kise's uninjured hand in reassurance.

"An infection. And it's a bad one. Takao, there's a spray can, right?" Midorima asked and Takao handed him a old but still functioning spray.

"Cover his mouth." He ordered the stranger, and the man, though he didn't look like he wanted to, covered Kise's mouth with his hand.

Midorima mercilessly sprayed the content onto Kise's arm and the blond let out a painfully muffled scream, tears running down his cheeks in pure anguish. His body began to twitch terribly, his legs flailing uncontrollably, and the black haired man closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see his kohai in such pain.

"What did you spray?" He asked, trying to block out the whimpers Kise was letting out.

"Disinfectant. Do you have any water? We're going to have to wipe away the rest of the blood. It'll give me a clearer view of where the most infected part is."

The man nodded but as he tried to get up, Kise put his whole body weight onto him, preventing him from moving.

"Kise, what—"

"Don't leave!" Kise pleaded, and the man, conflicted, stayed where he was. Midorima and Takao looked at the scene as a son pleading her mother to stay alive, to come back home.

The man looked at Midorima. "There's some water in my bag. The one across from Kise. You can use that." He directed and Takao quickly pulled out a water bottle that was half full.

"Takao, a cloth. Put some water on it." Midorima ordered and once Takao gave him what he wanted, Midorima tried to gingerly clean the blood away. Kise twitched viciously, trying his best not to scream out once more, and when most of the blood was washed away, Midorima asked for another cloth, which surprisingly, the first aid kit had.

"We're going to have to do this a few times for the next few days because it's really infected. What happened?" Midorima asked as Takao handed him a cloth. Midorima sprayed more disinfectant onto the cloth, and warned Kise that this was going to hurt badly.

Kise nodded once and Midorima placed the cloth further into the wound. Kise's body fell rigid, and the black haired man had to push his hand onto Kise's mouth harder because Kise just couldn't help but scream his lungs out.

"It's almost done." Midorima assured the man, but the man looked just as much in pain as Kise.

"Please hurry." He begged and Midorima nodded in understanding.

"Takao, bandages." Midorima ordered and Takao quickly gave him a bunch of them. Midorima expertly wrapped them around Kise's arm, and they then had to wait a few minutes for Kise to calm down with the help of the man gingerly supporting his body.

When that moment was over, Kise sighed in relief, the pain slowly fading away, and he fell asleep next to the fire, so close to it, the man almost moved him away. Midorima advised him not to, and the man couldn't help but look away. He then sighed as well, and looked at Midorima gratefully.

"Thank you so much. It's been a long time since I've seen his face this relaxed." The man commented, patting Kise's head tenderly. Midorima nodded and Takao smiled.

"It was good to be of help." Midorima said and allowed himself to relax as well, leaning against a wall behind him. He then crossed his arms just like a doctor. "He need stitches."

"He does?" The man frowned worriedly. "Do you have the right materials?"

Midorima shook head." We need a needle and string. At times like these, it doesn't necessarily have to be the ones used in hospitals, where the string is a lot stronger. I think any string will do as long as we have a lot."

"Where can we find a needle and string?" The man asked.

Takao shrugged. "I think if we can look into the houses, there'll be something around. There always is. Don't give up hope, Mr…?"

"Ah, Kasamatsu Yukio. You can call me Kasamatsu. And you are?" The man introduced himself.

"Midorima Shintarou."

"Takao Kazunari."

Kasamatsu ran his hand over his hair. "I need to find needle and string. I'll be right b—" He started to stand but Takao pulled him back before he could get out.

"You can't go out now. It's too dark and there're more zombies than usual."

"But—"

"You told Kise-san that you wouldn't leave him alone. So don't." Takao countered before Kasamatsu could speak again, and the man, dejected and defeated, sat back down.

"We'll search for it first thing in the morning." Takao reassured and Kasamatsu nodded dully.

"We don't need it right away, so you don't have to worry. The infection is extremely bad, so, like I said, we need to disinfect it all first before stitching it up. It'll be a few days, or even a week, before I can do that." Midorima explained.

"W-Was it that bad?" Kasamatsu whispered in horror and Midorima nodded while biting his lip.

"What happened to him? A wound like that can't get that infected unless it's been untreated for a least a few weeks." Midorima noted.

Kasamatsu rubbed the back of his neck. "We were running away from some zombies when Kise accidentally scratched himself really badly on a broken metal fence. You know the ones military people use?" The duo nodded their heads. "Yeah, Kise ran into one of those, and a really pointy metal line went through his skin. It must've been a little over a month since then." He lamented and refused to look at Midorima, who had a look of absolute horror.

"A month? And you couldn't do anything?" He couldn't help but say and Kasamatsu glared at him unintentionally.

"I'm not a doctor. And we tried to rinse it every chance we had water. It only grew worse, though. That idiot couldn't even tell me until it was too late. He always told me he was ok and that it was getting better every day. It wasn't until we entered Gunma that I saw how much of a stinking liar he was."

"He tried to hide it?" Takao commented in surprise and Kasamatsu nodded angrily.

"He was holding it in all this time. I didn't know because he was such a good actor. And he refused to show me his arm all that time, so it's not like I could've known. We didn't even have the right supplies."

"Well, if we keep disinfecting it, he'll get better soon." Midorima said and Kasamatsu smiled in relief.

"Thank god, he's pretty much the only person I have left." Kasamatsu said without thinking and his eyes widened when he realized what he had said.

Takao's smile turned into a frown. "Hey, we know how you feel. Shin-chan's pretty much the only one I have left, too. You're not alone in that aspect."

"Yeah, that seems to happen a lot now, doesn't it? Everyone turning into those fucking corpses and it's either kill or be killed." Kasamatsu said in disgust and looked at his hands. "Had to kill my entire team with Kise." He winced. "Not one of my most memorable moments."

"Team?" Takao asked and Kasamatsu nodded.

"We're in a basketball team. Well, we were. Now, I only have Kise by my side. I don't know what I would do if he died. I -" Kasamatsu started shaking and Takao had to pat his back soothingly.

"I don't want to be alone." He whispered and covered his face in anguish. Midorima and Takao looked at each morosely while looking at the dejected man, and suddenly, Kasamatsu jumped, making the others follow his lead.

Kise was leaning his body against Kasamatsu's, his hand firmly gripped onto the other, and he smiled softly, gazing into Kasamatsu's silver eyes intently. "I'm not leaving you, senpai. Not now, not ever." Kise said and Kasamatsu was silent for a second before smacking Kise on the head.

Kise flew back, holding his damaged head.

"What was that for, senpai? That hurt!" Kise whined while rubbing his uninjured hand onto his head. Kasamatsu glared, crossing his arms menacingly.

"Weren't you sleeping just now?" He accused and Kise gave him a sheepish smile.

"I was trying to, but the conversation was too interesting. Sorry?" Kise explained with a small apology and Kasamatsu smacked his head once more.

"Kise, you bastard, don't eavesdrop on other people's conversations!" Kasamatsu reprimanded and Kise laughed. He then directed his attention to Midorima and Takao with curiosity.

"Are you the ones who helped me?" He asked and Takao nodded while Midorima merely scrunched his eyes. There was something familiar about him, and Kise also looked at Midorima in the same manner.

Then, Kise hit his side in recognition. "Midorima Shintarou!"

Midorima, startled, nodded. "You know me?"  
"Who doesn't?" Kise said cheerfully. "You were one of the most famous basketball players in high school. My school almost went against you once, but we were knocked down by this powerhouse school, Touou Academy."

"Ah," Kasamatsu joined in, "you guys were the Light and Shadow of Shuutoku, weren't you? I knew your names sounded familiar."

"Almost didn't recognize you, Midorimacchi, because of your hairstyle. When did you cut it?"

"Midorimacchi?" Midorima repeated with a look of terror and Takao had to hold back his chuckles. Kasamatsu merely groaned and Kise smiled innocently.

"Kise has this tendency to add the suffix -cchi to anyone he respects." Kasamatsu explained tiredly and Kise rocked back and forth like a giddy kid.

"Jesus, Kise, stop moving! Are you sure you were hurt just a few minutes ago?" Kasamatsu accused and Kise feigned hurt.

"Of course I was, senpai! How could you say that to me?" Kise said dramatically and shut up the moment Kasamatsu hit him on the back. Takao looked at their antics and couldn't help but laugh.

"Man, you guys are great friends, aren't you?" Takao said, wiping a tear from his eye.

Kise smiled. "I don't know how I'd live without senpai." He commented and Kasamatsu, while blushing slightly, hit him once more.

"Don't make it sound like a love confession, idiot!" He growled and in a moment, just a few seconds, the four of them lost the stress and tension in their body, just happy to feel this moment of tranquility.

* * *

"So, you guys are from Tokyo? When did you enter Tochigi?" Kise asked. Everyone was finally settled into their respective spots and Takao, who was putting his hands next to the fire, shrugged.

"I think about a few days ago. We almost got sidetracked with the amount of zombies lurking around the area, but we cleared it out, so we're good." Takao said. "And you guys? Where did you come from?"

"Kanagawa, just below to Tokyo. We just arrived to Tochigi." Kasamatsu said and glared at Kise. Kise, on the other hand, pretended not to notice. "We could've gone further if this idiot here told me his injury was getting worse."

"Senpai, be honest, if you were in my position, you wouldn't really want to say anything, would you?" Kise asked with his uninjured arm on his hip, and Kasamatsu looked away, trying to avoid the question.

Takao knew Kasamatsu's thoughts too well. Had he been hurt badly and they didn't have the right supplies, he never would have told Midorima about it and would have just kept it to himself. The burden of knowing that your only companion might worry about you every day and possibly risk his own life just to save yours was unbearable. Had he been hurt, he would have been more like Kise, acting as if everything was alright. It would definitely bite him in the ass in the end, especially if he couldn't take the pain anymore and he had no choice but to show it, but until then, Takao would never let Midorima see.

"So, where are you guys heading to?" Kasamatsu then asked, and Kise gave him a pointed look as if to say they would talk about this later.

"We're going to Hokkaido." Takao answered and Kise tilted his head.

"The island at the very top of Japan? Why there?"

"A radio we had said that Hokkaido was pretty much the only quarantine zone left. It said people were trying to find a cure and anyone who was studying medicine or getting a degree should try to go there. Shin-chan here was studying to become a doctor, so it was obvious where we had to go." Takao explained as he pushed Shin-chan in a friendly manner.

Kasamatsu whistled. "All planned out and ready to go, huh? Well, I wish you guys luck."

"Wait, you're not going to Hokkaido, too?" Midorima asked in confusion.

Kise shook his head. "We're going to try and find our relatives and start from there. Last time we checked, both of our families were in Niigata, just left of Tochigi. We were going to go another way but we got sidetracked."

"You're going to be looking for your parents?" Midorima asked in surprise and both Kise and Kasamatsu nodded.

"We can't go through this world without more help." Kasamatsu said.

"How do you know they're still alive?" Takao said bluntly, looking at them with dead eyes. Kise and Kasamatsu looked astounded at the sudden change in personality.

"We don't, but there's a chance that they are, and we're going to take the risk." Kasamatsu replied as confidently as he could. Takao nodded but turned his back against them afterwards. Midorima sighed, gave the two a silent apology, and started patting Takao on the shoulder. He was shaking slightly, and if Midorima hadn't been so close, he wouldn't have been able to see it.

Midorima leaned in closer to Takao, and saw in the flickering moonlight Takao's scrunched up face, his eyes shut tightly and his lip bit hard.

"Takao…" Midorima said in grief, but Takao stopped him before he could say anything.

"No, I'm not going through this again. I got over it. I'm fine." Takao tried to emphasize but it merely came out as a trembling, almost breaking whisper. Midorima wanted to say something, say that there was still hope for Takao's father and for Midorima's parents, but nothing came out. Instead, he kept rubbing Takao's back with his hand in hopes of calming him down. Soon enough, Takao's eyes loosened and he slowly started to lean forward drowsily.

"Sorry Shin-chan, I'm a bit tired after pulling some all-nighters." Takao whispered sleepily and Midorima felt a flare of anger surge through him.

"If you woke me up before dawn, we wouldn't have this kind of problem. Why didn't you wake me up?" Midorima asked, trying his best to force down his anger. Five days Takao had gone watching over Midorima, not waking him up and not even spending one second resting himself. Every time he asked why Takao didn't wake him up, he never did get an answer.

He didn't get one this time either.

Takao smiled tiredly and Midorima laid his body down. Takao shifted a bit until he found his comfortable spot and soon enough, he was asleep.

Midorima sighed and turned his attention back to newcomers. They looked confused, a bit surprised, but didn't say anything of the matter.

"It seems like we have to say here for the night. Do you mind?"

Kasamatsu shook his head. "Not at all. Stay by all means necessary." A pause. "Is it ok if we ask you something?"

Midorima looked at them morosely, knowing where this was going. "Takao lost his mother and sister the first day it happened. That's why he was like that when you guys mentioned your parents. It was hard on him."

Kise and Kasamatsu lowered their eyes in shame. "I had no idea." Kise said in gloom. "We never would have brought it up if we had known—"

"But you didn't." Midorima cut off. "You didn't know, so it's fine."

There was an awkward silence as the only sound out there was a few crickets and wisps of flames slowly dying out.

Kasamatsu rubbed the back of his head. "That wasn't really what we were going to ask, though." He said awkwardly and Midorima looked at him curiously.

"It wasn't? I thought you were wondering about why Takao acted that way."

"Well, we were curious but we weren't really going to pry. It's your backstory so we have no right to poke you about it. Thank you for telling us, though. We'll be more careful next time." Kasamatsu said solemnly and Midorima nodded in appreciation.

"So, what was your original question?"

"Would you like to join us? It would a great help to us if you guys could tag along. You guys can definitely survive if you walked all the way from Tokyo."

"So do you guys, since you started even farther from us." Midorima commented and Kise shrugged.

"We've had a few close calls though. Takao-san looks extremely reliable, though."

Midorima couldn't help but smile at that remark "He is. He has the eyes and ears of a hawk."

"So, how about it? Want to join?" Kasamatsu asked.

"Didn't you say you guys needed to go to Niigata, though?"

"We could always part ways when the time comes. Besides, it's been some time since we've had other company. It's nice to have more people you can trust." Kise said with a soft smile, and Midorima couldn't help but remember Hanamiya and Kentaro. He looked away unconsciously, and he thought about it carefully. He didn't sense anything bad about them, though his instincts couldn't always be trusted.

He knew it would end badly for the two of them. Either they would end up being betrayed just like before, or they would end up sacrificing one for the sake of morality, for the sake of saving the other. He didn't want Takao to do anything stupid like that, but knowing him, he would jump to the cause the moment something happened.

He could picture now. They would all be running away from an immensely big amount of zombies, they would be trapped, and in a desperate attempt to survive, Kasamatsu or Kise would start hacking away, along with the help of Midorima and Takao. It would work for a while until Kasamatsu lost his concentration from worrying about Kise and his arm, and there would be a zombie right next to him, just ready to bite. And Takao, sharp-eyed as he was, would come to the rescue, pushing Kasamatsu away from the zombie taking its place instead. He would then…

Midorima didn't want to think about it.

He knew it was a mistake to say yes to their offer. He knew if the time came, something like the scene in his mind would happen.

And yet, he missed the comfort of other people. People to rely on and to hold onto when situations got out of hand. He missed these kinds of light banters, ones that Takao and Midorima seemed to be losing every night.

And so, when he nodded and the two smiled at him thankfully, he silently pleaded whoever was up there to save Takao at all costs if the two of them were in any danger in the future.

 _Take me instead. Save Takao first._

* * *

"So, what we need to do right now is to check all the houses." Kasamatsu ordered. "We need any supplies like food, water, and a first aid kit if possible." Takao and Midorima heard Kasamatsu's order as 'find needle and string'.

The other three nodded, and Takao was going to suggest splitting up again when Kise walked over to Kasamatsu and clung onto his arm.

"I wanna go with senpai!" Kise said enthusiastically and Kasamatsu had to hit him on the head to make him let go. He gave him a stink eye but didn't disagree.

"We can split up to cover more ground. Since we're four people, we can go in pairs and support each other's backs." Kasamatsu explained. That was a plan that Midorima could agree with.

"I could go with Kasamatsu-san to search. You seem to have sharp eyes." Takao suggested and Kasamatsu thought about it, Kise's face faltering slightly. Midorima had told them that Takao had sharp eyes, so he had a better chance to find a small object like a needle faster than most normal people. Kasamatsu himself, having been a point guard in basketball before the apocalypse, could notice smaller details than others, so it was a good match.

He didn't really want to leave Kise alone with strangers but Midorima himself was the one who fixed Kise and he looked like someone that could be trusted. At the same time, if he ever hurt Kise in any way, Kasamatsu would kill the green-head himself.

"It does seem like the best way. How about this? Kise and I will search for food and you two can search for aid kits. Of course, we'll look for that too, but since you guys have the better eyes, you can detect smaller details." Midorima suggested and Takao saluted him with a wink.

"We'll be off then!" He called out as he grabbed Kasamatsu's arm and dragged him to a house that was up the hill.

"You guys don't trust us, do you?" Midorima heard Kise whisper and he looked at the shorter man with a shrug.

"We've just met. We can't trust that easily."

"I trust you, though." Kise said bluntly and Midorima sighed at his naiveness.

"That easily? That's going to get you killed sooner or later." Midorima stated solemnly and Kise merely shrugged.

"Us humans have to stick together. I can't imagine why we would turn against one another."

"Humans are selfish, impulsive people. You don't know what kind of thing they'll do if they're desperate enough."

"Have you met someone like that?" Kise asked and Midorima's eyes flicked for a split second, remembering Takao ramming his knife onto Hanamiya's head without a word.

"Yeah, I have." Midorima said and the conversation was left at that. Kise and Midorima decided to go to the left of the street that had a two-story house. Most of the paint was scraped off and there was blood marring some walls as well. The roof looked very unstable and old, and the windows were blocked out by wood messily nailed in.

Kise and Midorima walked into the house carefully, watching for the roof that was slightly shaking as they entered. Kise and Midorima split up, Kise taking the top and Midorima taking the bottom, and he began scouring for food. Midorima didn't think he would worry about seeing any zombies here because of how old it was, but when Kise called out his name, and he walked upstairs to see what was wrong, he couldn't move.

He stopped in his steps once he saw what Kise was seeing and legs became weak. Kise was on his knees as well, and though he looked like he was praying, his eyes were open in despair. Because right in front of a child's room was a zombie, thin and emaciated, slowly walking towards them, barely about to keep himself from standing. His legs, with no fat to the point where his bones could clearly be seen, was shaking and he soon heard a loud crack emanating from his legs. His head, too big for his small body, tried to go up first but immediately failed and the zombie let out the most saddest growl Midorima had ever heard.

The two couldn't say anything for a bit, and as the small child zombie tried one more time to stand up, Kise looked away.

"I found him while entering the room. Looks like he's been abandoned for quite some time." Kise whispered and the child finally stood up. They could see his stomach latched onto his ribs, having nothing but a straight line replacing his abdomen, and his ribs were extremely visible, so thin they looked like they would break any second.

The zombie surged forward but quickly fell and this time, they heard a snap coming from his big head. The zombies as unfazed and tried once more.

"Judging by his room, he wasn't even over 10." Kise said. Midorima was still quiet. The child was still growling in pain.

"Do you think the parents left him?" Kise whispered with tears threatening to come out of his eyes, and Midorima couldn't take the growl anymore. He, with his cleaver, smashed it down on the child's enormous head and any sound that the child had made was gone.

Kise said nothing, merely looked at the corpse in shock, and Midorima started walking back down, his fist clenching on his weapon at hand. Kise immediately followed behind.

"Hey, where are you going?" He asked as he took Midorima's wrist.

"Anywhere that's not here." Midorima growled as he tried to shake off Kise's hand.

"We need to search for supplies."

"We can search for them here."

Midorima glared at him. "I'm not staying here."

"Why? I don't understand!" Kise exasperated and Midorima turned around to face him with an angry look.

"We just saw a _little kid_ as a zombie with barely any fat on him. He was all bones, and he wasn't even over 10, just like you said. Why should I stay in a house where his parents didn't have the fucking audacity to have helped him before all this? Why didn't they even let him out of his room? Why didn't they kill him to put him out of his misery?" Midorima shouted and Kise looked conflicted, trying to figure out what to say.

Midorima looked away, turning to leave.

"Maybe they died before they could help him. Maybe they died trying to protect him." Kise said softly and Midorima stopped his steps.

And yet, the woe he felt from killing such a harmless child was still with him. "I stand by my case."

"Why are you so against his parents? You never know."

Midorima was silent for a second. Then, "I know how it feels like to have your parents abandon you. I'm more than sure that he was left behind. That's how humans are." Kise said nothing, looking at Midorima with scrunched up eyebrows. "Let's go. There's nothing to see here." Midorima said and walked out of the house.

The roof shook for a second and Kise quickly followed after, refusing to look up the stairs and see some blood falling down.

The two walked in silence as they entered the next house. It was more abundant, which Midorima found relieving, and they split up again; this time, Midorima went upstairs while Kise checked the kitchen. He found some playing cards, a few ripped up posters, messy, uneven beds, and some first aid supplies that could definitely be useful.

When he went back down, he saw Kise stuffing his bag with various foods such as a cans and bags of chips. He looked at Midorima for a second before showing his bag and the contents inside it. He grinned and Midorima nodded at a job well done. Having enough food, they then went further down to the next house to find first aid now.

When they went in, Kise finally broke the silence. "I don't think I said this properly before, but thank you for helping me with my arm." He said, showing his bandaged arm to Midorima.

He shrugged. "Thank your partner. He's the one who found us and asked for help."

"Kasamatsu-senpai worries too much." Kise said with a joking smile, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand.

"He was right to worry. If you kept that arm untreated, it would have developed into something worse. Best case scenario, if you guys had known what would happen, you would have had to chop your arm off."

Kise's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" He grabbed his bandaged arm protectively.

Midorima nodded. "Worst case would be not knowing about the infection and letting it prevent you from using it in general, all the while affecting your entire body."

"I never knew it would be that bad."

"I've studied these kinds of things a lot in university."

Kise looked guilty. "I just feel really bad that Kasamatsu-senpai had to deal with me and my stupid injury for so long."

Midorima gave him a sideways look. "It wasn't your fault. I would've acted as if nothing had happened myself if this kind of thing happened to me."

"To Takao-kun? Wouldn't he know right away though?" Kise asked and Midorima nodded with a small smile.

"I guess he would. I would still try to hide it, though. Anything to make him less worried."

"You two seem like you'd be masochists."

"Only for each other." Midorima accidentally said and Kise smiled sympathetically.

"I'd do the same for senpai, too."

Midorima looked at Kise for a second and finally sighed. "We really are idiots, aren't we?"

Kise grinned." Only for the ones we love."

"You love Kasamatsu-san?" Midorima asked in surprise.

Kise nodded, not at all fazed by the question. "He's the only one I have left. If we don't find our parents in Niigata, he'll be the only one left. I don't have much hope of finding them, to be honest. It's been so many months. I doubt we would be able to find them. I love him with all my heart. I don't know what I would do if we were to ever get separated." Kise said while frowning, and his eyes looked panicked, as if the scenario itself scared him. Midorima couldn't sympathize enough.

Kise then composed himself and gazed at Midorima with a solemn look, one Midorima never knew he had. It was as if his bubbly personality was a lie and this was the real Kise Ryouta. "That's why I vowed to myself that I would rather sacrifice myself if Kasamatsu-senpai gets in trouble. I refuse to let him die."

Midorima couldn't help but smile visibly now. "We're on the same page then."

Kise slightly punched Midorima in a friendly manner. "Do you love Takao-kun as well?"

It was such an innocent, naive question, but even still, Midorima froze up. Kise looked at him curiously and Midorima tried to shrug it off. "He's my best friend." That was all he willing to say. Even now he knew he was blushing immensely.

Kise caught it easily. "What's there to be afraid of? It looked like Takao-kun felt the same way."

At that, Midorima spluttered. "There is no way Takao feels the same way. We've always been friends, nothing more. I'm not letting my feelings ruin this for me. Just give me more time and I'll figure this out. I'm not letting anything get in the way of our partnership. I absolutely refuse."

Kise looked at him with unreadable eyes and Midorima busied himself with searching for supplies in order to avoid more conversation. He heard Kise sigh before helping him.

* * *

"Nothing. We couldn't find any needle or string." Kasamatsu cursed once they all grouped up again. Takao looked annoyed as well, as if it was his fault they couldn't find anything.

"Needle and string? Why?" Kise asked in confusion.

"I thought you were awake last night." Midorima said and Kise shrugged.

"I was asleep in the beginning. I woke up because my arm was stinging me. Why do we need a needle and string?" As everyone looked at Kise's bandaged arm, his eyes widened in understanding. "You're going to have to stitch it for me, don't you?"

Midorima nodded and Kise bit his lip. "It's going to hurt like a bitch, isn't it?"

"Kise!" Kasamatsu reprimanded.

"What? It's true!" Kise shouted back and held his arm protectively. "Can't we just wait until it closes up on its own?"

"And let it be exposed to more disease? Letting it close on its own will take extremely long. Me and Takao probably won't be with you before that happens, and the wound's just going to get infected again. What will you do then?" Midorima asked and Kise couldn't say anything back.

Kasamatsu looked conflicted. "What should we do then?"

Midorima rubbed the back of his head. The now comforting buzz cut was growing and his hair was slowly becoming longer. He would have to ask Takao to cut it again. "For the moment, nothing. His wound is still diseased so stitching it up right now would make the infection stay inside the body. We have a few days before the infection disappears. We still have time."

Takao suddenly raised his hand. "I saw a hospital while we were searching."

Everyone turned to him. "Then why didn't you say so sooner?" Midorima reprimanded.

"Because it's way out in the distance. I didn't say anything because I thought you guys would've found something but we're desperate now. The hospital might have everything we need."

"How far?" Kasamatsu asked desperately.

Takao scrunched his eyebrows in deep thought. "It looked far but not so much. If we're diligent and walk, we can get there in two or three days. If we find a working car, we can get there by night, I think."

"I doubt there's going to be any working cars, and even if there were, there wouldn't be any gas left. We have to walk." Kasamatsu determined and the others nodded.

Kise looked like he didn't want to. "I'm fine. I really am. We don't need to go."

Kasamatsu glared at him. "We are _not_ starting this again. Midorima's a doctor. Listen to him."

"I'm not a doctor ye-"

"Why can't you trust me?" Kise cut Midorima off unintentionally.

"Because who's the idiot who hid his injury from me for two months?" Kasamatsu said with his hands to his hips.

"You'd do the same to me, don't even lie!"

"The fact goes that you're still hurt and you need medical help! I don't care if I would've done the same thing, we still need to stitch you up and I, for one, refuse to let you fucking die!" Kasamatsu screamed and Takao's eyes suddenly widened.

He started hitting Midorima on the arm rapidly. "We need to go."

"What? Takao, stop hitting me."

"We need to go!" He yelled as he grabbed Midorima's wrist and started dragging him. The other two looked at Takao, then behind them, and immediately started running as well. Midorima had to squint as the day was getting darker. And as he was getting dragged, he finally saw it. The massive hoard of zombies bounding towards them.

The grip on Midorima's wrist loosened as he shook Takao's hand away, and Kasamatsu cursed himself for being so loud.

"Where do we go?" Kise shouted over his shoulder. "There's no place that's safe!"

Kasamatsu's eyes darted, looking for the one thing he never expected to want to find. "Fuck, find a zombie!"

"What?" Midorima asked in pure horror. "There's a whole bunch of them coming towards us. Why on earth do you want to find a zombie?"

"Just trust me!" Kasamatsu shouted and found several zombies from the sides sensing their presence and coming towards them as well. Kasamatsu nodded to Kise and the blond nodded back. He then rushed forward to one of the zombies coming from them at front and swiftly killed it. Kasamatsu did the same and the two, at the same time, thrusted their hands inside the zombies' bodies. Takao widened his eyes in realization and nodded towards Midorima; that it was ok to trust them.

Midorima, trusting Takao completely, killed one that was closest to him, and following Takao's lead, he began to rub the zombie's blood all over his clothes and face. The four quickly retreated to the sideline against a rotting house and hid behind it.

Kasamatsu put his finger on his lips. "Don't. Move."

And silently, they waited, their eyes quietly tracking the other zombies passing them, not caring about the zombie look-a-likes standing behind the house, until the roar of the zombies stomping their way on the street slowly dissipated.

When Kasamatsu felt that the coast was now clear, he breathed out a sigh of relief. His knees gave out and collapsed to the ground, the others following right after.

"So they sense humans with sound _and_ smell?" Midorima noted and Kasamatsu nodded.

"We figured it out when Kise hurt himself. We had hacked through thousands of them and didn't have time to clean ourselves from the blood. Next thing you know, the zombies completely ignore us and just in case, we even walked like those. Worked like magic."

"So, that also works in real life? I'll keep that in mind." Takao said, tapping the side of his forehead.

Kise sighed as he looked at his clothes in disgust. "I wouldn't recommend doing it all the time, though. The blood sticks to you even if you're wearing clothes. You get a very unsettling, disgusting feeling with you for a few days if you don't wash them. And it's a terrible color."

Kasamatsu suddenly laughed and Kise gave him a stink eye. "What?"

"Sorry. Just that only you would be thinking about fashion at a time like this. This is the model Kise Ryouta I know." Both Midorima and Takao could hear the _'and love'_ that Kasamatsu refused to say.

Kise also began to laugh at his own words. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Kise, we need to go to the hospital." Kasamatsu said solemnly and Kise, who lost his laughter at his words, began to nod slowly, understanding Kasamatsu's feelings.

Kise looked at the three people covered with zombie blood. The stench was gut-wrenching and they all looked like they came out of a terrible horror movie set. Kise couldn't help but laugh once more, and this time, he felt lighter and happier. With a smile on his face, he looked at Kasamatsu tenderly and said,"Ok, senpai. We'll go."

* * *

"Why did we ever think coming to a hospital full of dead people was a good idea?" Midorima hissed as the four got backed up to a corner, zombies rushing forward in an alarming rate.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you guys were too worried and just couldn't let it go?" Kise answered with sarcasm dripping heavily from his mouth.

"Kise, I'm going to murder you if you don't shut up." Kasamatsu glared. In the heap of chaos and madness, Midorima couldn't do anything but to wait. He had to trust, and he had to believe that they were all going to make it out alive.

However, as the zombies lurched forward and the distance between them and the dead shortened, he grew panicked.

And during this heap of madness, Midorima saw from the corner of his eye his black haired companion, his face grew terrified. He was about to run towards his friend to help, but Kasamatsu stopped at the last second.

"Don't, you won't be able to help."

"Get off me, he won't be able to do this himself. There's way too many of them. Takao won't ever be able to do it himself."

"He can. Takao's skilled, you know that. He'll be fine."

But even when Kasamatsu had said that, and Midorima truly believed that Takao would be ok, the leader of the zombies began running towards the black haired man and Midorima couldn't help but shout, "Takao!" in complete and absolute dread.

* * *

 **Yay, we got introduced to Kise and Kasamatsu! I wonder how their faiths will turn out :)**

 **Hope you enjoyed and please await the next chapter!**

 **Peace,**

 **FlyAndDontLookBack**


	6. VI

"Rise and shine. Time to finally encounter the mysterious hospital." Takao whispered close to Midorima's ear and he jumped at the proximity between the two.

"Woah, you look like you've seen a ghost, Shin-chan." Takao laughed and Midorima had to take a moment to calm his rapidly beating heart.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily once he settled down.

Takao looked at his invisible watch that was on his wrist. He grinned cheekily at Midorima, who pushed Takao to the ground.

"Stop playing around, Takao." Midorima reprimanded and pulled his knees together. "Are Kasamatsu-san and Kise awake?"

Takao shook his head. "I was going to wake them up first but…" When Midorima raised his eyebrow, Takao stood up and gestured Midorima to follow.

Midorima couldn't help but have a small smile on his face when he saw the two snuggling against each other. Kise, even though he was taller of the two, had his head buried into Kasamatsu's chest, and their legs were intertwined like that of a couple. Kasamatsu had one arm bent and behind his head as a pillow, but his other arm held Kise protectively, pressing Kise closer towards him.

"I couldn't wake them up after seeing this. They look really comfortable, don't they?" Takao commented and Midorima nodded in agreement.

But in the end, they had to wake both of them up. The sun was coming up, and Midorima was becoming blinded by the rays. The wind started blowing hard judging by the swaying of the trees outside of their shelter, and both Midorima and Takao shivered from the cold.

Kise and Kasamatsu both blushed when they realized the sleeping position they were in. Kasamatsu stuttered an excuse saying that the weather was too cold and Kise was shivering anyways so it would be a good way to provide warmth. Kise outright told them that he wanted to cuddle against Kasamatsu. Kise earned a good slap to the head.

"So, how much further until we get there?" Kasamatsu asked and Takao peered at the scenery.

"Just a bit longer. We made good time yesterday so we can get there by mid-afternoon." The wind hit their back and Kasamatsu shivered. "Hopefully, the weather lightens up by then."

"I can't believe we're already in winter." Takao said in disbelief. They've survived for six months already in this hellhole. Would they be able to make it to Hokkaido safe and sound?

"Well, nearing it at least. We're screwed if snow hits, so you guys better make it to Hokkaido quick. Or try to find better clothes." Kasamatsu said as he looked at Takao's shredded t-shirt under his fall jacket.

Midorima nodded. "There might be some in the hospital. Who knows? We might be able to find a lot of things there."

"Which is why we should start moving now. Let's go." Takao said and once they all packed their bags and had a quick breakfast with pecans and peaches, they set out to the run down hospital.

* * *

They arrived in mid afternoon, when the sun was at its climax and was shining brightly at them. They still felt the wind, however, and Takao couldn't help but shiver. Midorima noticed how skinny he had gotten. Takao always had a fast metabolism.

The hospital was definitely run down; its walls were painted with spray paint, which was weird because who in the world would vandalize buildings nowadays? The words were in red and they read out: _Warning, zombies inside_.

Kise stepped back. "I don't think we should enter. I mean, it literally says _warning_. Who knows how many there are if they even had to put a warning sign?"

Kasamatsu, however, was determined, as was Midorima. "We're going in." Kasamatsu said and pushed the door open as silently as he could. The found themselves in front of a dark hallways that, even with the sun shining, was still ominous and filled with shadows. Kasamatsu had to hold Kise's hand to stop the blond from running away.

"I'm really not good with hospitals." Kise said with dry, chapped lips. Kasamatsu gave him a steady look, and Kise took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Then, he nodded, and they all went inside.

"Should I close the door?" Takao whispered and Midorima nodded.

"We need to prevent more from coming in." He explained and Takao shut the doors that opened inside-out. Kise had a panicked look.

"You're shutting us out. We won't be able to go out now!" He hissed and suddenly started to hyperventilate. Takao and Midorima looked at the blond in confusion, but Kasamatsu was already on his knees, calming his partner down.

"Kise, we're going to be fine. The doors aren't closed and we'll be able to get out. It's going to be ok." He assured but Kise had his hands to his ears, closing his eyes shut.

Kasamatsu looked at the Tokyo duo apologetically, and mouthed that Kise had a trauma with hospitals. Then, he turned back to Kise, whispered several words close to his ear, out of the others' reach, and slowly, Kise's hands fell to his sides.

"Are you ok?" Kasamatsu asked with his steady look, and Kise nodded, staring directly at him.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I'm ok." He repeated a few times, and they both stood up, Kasamatsu holding Kise's hand gently but sturdily.

"Ok, let's go." The spikey-haired man said and he took the lead easily. One could definitely tell that he was a great person to follow. The lights were barely flickering and it was hard for Midorima to see well. Takao knew this and grabbed him by the arm, subtly helping him with his steps and directions. The rooms were all closed, though the ones with small windows on them were broken. Some even looked like they were metal doors with only a small slot that opened from the other side.

Kise saw it and shuddered. "What kind of hospital has metal doors?"

"Mental asylums." Takao provided unhelpfully and Midorima smacked his mouth shut. Kise was already turning frenzied but with a firm grasp from Kasamatsu, he calmed down.

"Let's just find what we need, shall we?" Kise said, trembling. "Where would we find a needle and string?"

Everyone looked at Midorima, who had the most experience with doctors and hospitals, and he tapped his chin in thought. Then, "Normally, it would be in surgical rooms, or maybe even the doctor's office. There could be some in the supply room, too."

"Great, we have a lot of options." Kasamatsu commented with a smile. "Where's the first place to look?"

"The supply room would be the best shot; that is, if it isn't locked or infested with zombies."

"Speaking of which, isn't it a bit too quiet?" Takao suddenly said and everyone grew silent, carefully trying to listen to any growls around them.

Kasamatsu's eyebrows scrunched. "That _is_ weird. Didn't the warning say there'd be zombies inside? I hear nothing."

"Maybe they all left through an emergency exit." Kise provided.

"Or they're all in the same place. We better be careful and hurry. Don't open any doors unless it's absolutely necessary. Some might be locked in and that's an advantage for us at the moment. If we do have to open one, stay behind the door, so when said zombies do come out, we'll be ready to kill them. And do not make any noise." Midorima explained and the others nodded dutifully.

The two leaders of the group, Midorima and Kasamatsu, took the lead while Kise and Takao were a few steps back. Kise held Takao's arm tightly but it looked like he wasn't trembling anymore.

"Midorimacchi is really smart, isn't he?"

Takao nodded proudly. "Yup, he is. He's the one who thinks everything through."

"What a great skill to have at a time like this."

"I know. I don't think I would've survived as long if it weren't for him."

Kise looked at Takao's soft smile and his grip loosened. "I feel the same way with Kasamatsu-senpai. We've been through so much together and I don't think I would've been able to come out alive from the locker room if it weren't for him."

Takao looked at the blond curiously. "You guys did mention once that you had to kill… that all your teammates turned into zombies."

Kise detected the sudden change of words but shrugged. "Yeah, it turns out that—"

"Oi, what are you guys lounging about for? Come on, we found an operation room. We're going to check that out first." Kasamatsu whispered fiercely and the two looked at each other before fastening their pace.

Midorima was in front of the door, contemplative. "Take your positions. I'll open the door because I can't see well enough to attack. Be ready if any zombies come out." He then proceeded to knock on the door.

"What are you doing?" Kasamatsu hissed but Midorima's eyes stayed focused.

"We need to lure them out. We can't have them suddenly pop up out of the nowhere while we're searching for supplies."

"But you might have attracted zombies!" Kasamatsu started to say but all stopped when they heard muffled growling from inside. Midorima turned to Takao and both nodded, Takao completely trusting Midorima and his plan. Kise turned around to face the hallways, checking to see if they attracted any more zombies, and with an okay signal, Midorima opened the operation room door.

Immediately, at least five zombies barged out, ready to eat, and one of them clicked on a switch from inside, lighting the entire room. Everyone was ready, even Midorima, who could now fight as the room provided the light necessary for him, and in mere seconds, each zombie fell to the ground, unmoving.

Kise sighed in relief and patted Midorima on the shoulder in awe. "I never would've thought of that plan, Midorimacchi! You're awesome!"

Midorima didn't heed the compliment. "Do you think there're any more inside?"

"I'll check." Takao raised his hand and said. Midorima was about to stop him, telling him it was too dangerous, but with one swift look, Takao shook his head with a raised thumb.

"Everything's clear!" Takao whispered happily and the others went in cautiously. Midorima didn't forget to close the door but also checked if it could be open once more. When it did, he wiped translucent sweat from his forehead.

Quickly, the four split up to different sections of the room to find what they needed.

Kise couldn't even go the middle of the room, which had a cold, metal rectangular table big enough for a human being. He covered his mouth with his hand. There was more blood than he had ever seen. "Oh my god."

Midorima narrowed his eyes at the table and clicked his tongue. "How disgusting."

"Did any of you find anything?" Kasamatsu called out and everyone except Takao shook their heads in disappointment. Takao merely smiled as he held out a doctor's mask, gloves, and two small knives, fit for cutting skin.

Kise let out a small yelp. "E-exactly what do we need that for?"

Takao shrugged. "You never know. Shin-chan, will we need these?"

"Who knows. We might need it in the near future. Let's take them just in case. We can each take one when we separate." Takao handed one of the knives and gloves to Kasamatsu, but kept the only mask he could find.

"Shin-chan has a fear of germs, even now. If I ever get a cold, I'm going to need this." Takao provided jokingly and Midorima hit him on the head.

"Shut up, Takao." Kise and Kasamatsu chuckled in the background.

"Let's go to the next room." Midorima said and the others nodded, carefully opening the door and stepping over the zombies that once used to be well-known doctors. Midorima couldn't help but sigh as he saw one of the more famous doctors lying on the ground, unbreathing, unmoving.

The next several doors they checked were empty, except for a few bandages and in one case, a half-full can of disinfectant.

Kasamatsu's face shined. "Mind if we keep this?"

Takao shook his head with a smile on his face. He looked like a giddy child getting his Christmas present for the first time. "Not at all."

Finally, after fail after fail, Kasamatsu decided to look for the supply room.

"It has to be the only place left. What kind of hospital doesn't have needle and string?" He cursed in annoyance, panic slowly starting to arise. Kise looked at his partner in worry, and he patted him on the shoulder.

"Senpai, really, I'm fine without it."

Kasamatsu glared. "Say that one more time and I'll make sure you're never fine again." He then turned to Midorima after seeing Kise's fear-stricken face. "Where's the supply room?"

The green-haired man pointed. "I think it's going to be up ahead." Kasamatsu surged forward, determined to get that needle and string, when suddenly, Takao's head perked up and grabbed the spiked-haired man at the last second.

He looked at Takao in confusion and he couldn't even get mad because Takao's eyes widened significantly. He put his finger in front of his mouth, and soon enough, they all heard it. A low growl.

Takao, with his finger still on his mouth, grabbed Midorima slowly and pulled him towards him. Then, he began walking backwards, placing his back to the grey wall. A light coming from the ceiling flickered, and it seemed to shine right on top of Takao. He glanced at the light for a second before gesturing the others to follow his lead. His hand was still grabbing Midorima's hand and carefully, they turned a corner that led to another hallway.

They froze.

The growls became louder, more prominent, and not like the one they heard just a few seconds ago. Takao's eyes darted wildly, trying to pinpoint exactly what was going on. Soon enough, he realized that they had all fallen into a death trap. They were in the center of the hospital, and that was where all the zombies were.

Nobody said a word; nobody _could._ Whatever breath they had, they all sucked it in, doing their best to not have anything worthy enough to attract the beasts to them. Takao wanted to curse; it was his fault for leading them to center hallway in the first place. He could have just killed the zombie and be done with it.

He could have done a lot of things.

The lights began to flicker and one of the chords snapped, making a sizzling noise that echoed throughout the entire hospital. Zombies left and right whipped their heads to that direction, the direction in which they were at.

This time, Takao did curse. "Fuck, we're dead. We're so dead."

"Takao, this is not the time to be negative. We need to find a place to hide." Midorima glared as he whispered intensely.

"Where can we go? Everything is either locked or infested with zombies. We're dead. So, so dead." Takao dreaded.

"Will you shut up?" Midorima hissed and Kasamatsu had to hit the both of them on the head to keep them quiet. They had made enough noise already, and he needed to deal with a shivering Kise as well. His face was now pale, and his fists were clenched, holding his body close to himself.

"Kise, calm down."

"I told you, didn't I? I told you we wouldn't be safe. I told you!" Kise shouted unintentionally in a lapse of panic and everyone could hear the sudden banging on the walls and the floor. Takao saw the first five coming from the left, and three more from the opposite side. And the front had a a hoard of them, so many that the hallway was filled and the zombies were slowed of their movement but still desperately trying to break away and have a good meal.

He believed that this was the end. It was now or never.

He turned to Midorima, finally ready to tell him, to lay down all his cards, his pride, his heart, and tell him that he truly loved him.

But Midorima was glancing behind, his eyes quickly darting from left to right until he finally spotted what he wanted to see.

"The supply room!" He said as he pointed to the end of the hallway. Even Takao couldn't read what the sign said on the door that was on the very right of the ended hallway. He wondered how Midorima, of all people, could know, but nevertheless, three of them started running as if their life depended on it.

Kasamatsu stayed behind. Kise didn't realize until he was halfway there.

His golden eyes widened, and with the flickering light above him, they looked like it was turning into fire.

"Don't come!" Kasamatsu yelled as he hit a zombie by the neck. Its head detached from the body and hit the wall, its blood making a big splotch.

Kise didn't listen. Immediately, he saved Kasamatsu by killing a zombie that was in his blind spot. Kasamatsu looked surprised for a second, but his eyes steeled, and the two began to hack away at the eight zombies bounding towards them.

One by one, each of them fell, and the two danced at the center of the hallway, perfectly in sync, and never once failing to look at each other in the eye. The freed zombies, now reduced to zero, had no chance against them. The middle point had become their dance floor and no other could compete against them and hope to win.

Once done, Kise and Kasamatsu gazed at each other deeply, so many emotions passing all at once. Kise opened his mouth, and Kasamatsu waited for it, but their time in the spotlight cut short as the hoard of zombies in front of them finally broke free. They ran, they prayed, and they hoped as they reached the other two.

Takao was furiously attacking the door on the right. Midorima's hands twitched furiously as well.

"What are you doing?" Kise asked impatiently.

"Of course it would be locked! What did we expect? It's fucking hospital with mental people running around the place! Of course the people wouldn't just have it open for everyone to see! Why did it have to be such a big fucking lock?" Takao ranted, mostly to himself, as his trembling hands desperately tried to open the big, metal lock attached to the door.

Two thirds of the blood-thirsting beasts were coming closer to them. Was it just Midorima or were they faster than before? He discarded that; what he knew was that they were all running out of time.

Kasamatsu and Kise had their stance ready to go, but doubt flickered in their eyes. There was to many to count, and they were too many for four people — three, even, because Takao was too busy trying to save them the easy way — and they all knew they couldn't handle this massive amount.

"Why did we ever think coming to a hospital full of dead people was a good idea?" Midorima hissed as the four got backed up to a corner, zombies rushing forward in an alarming rate.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you guys were too worried and just couldn't let it go?" Kise answered with sarcasm dripping heavily from his mouth.

"Kise, I'm going to murder you if you don't shut up." Kasamatsu glared. In the heap of chaos and madness, Midorima couldn't do anything but to wait. He had to trust, and he had to believe that they were all going to make it out alive.

However, as the zombies lurched forward and the distance between them and the dead shortened, he grew panicked.

And during this heap of madness, Midorima saw from the corner of his eye his black haired companion, his face grew terrified. He was about to run towards his friend to help, but Kasamatsu stopped at the last second.

"Don't, you won't be able to help."

"Get off me, he won't be able to do this himself. There's way too many of them. Takao won't ever be able to do it himself."

"He can. Takao's skilled, you know that. He'll be fine."

But even when Kasamatsu had said that, and Midorima truly believed that Takao would be ok, the leader of the zombies began running towards the black haired man and Midorima couldn't help but shout, "Takao!" in complete and absolute dread.

And thankfully, just before the zombie could lay prey on Takao's neck, the lock fell to the ground, Takao immediately swung his weapon at the zombie's head, which then stuck to the skull, and he entered the room as fast as he could. The other quickly followed, a step behind one another, and before any of the zombies could get in, Kise slammed the door shut.

Bangs were heard everywhere, and if Midorima hadn't pushed one of the wheeled shelves to blockade the door, they would have definitely entered.

They had a moment of silence, the banging still extremely loud. Midorima looked at Takao and his bare hands. There was some blood smearing his neck, and it looked as if he had been bitten. He gulped and wondered if he really was.

Quietly, he stepped up close to Takao, chests touching each other. The supply room was small, especially with four bulky people in it, and the shelves filled with dirty, old medical supplies, which made the room seem even smaller.

Takao sucked in his breath as Midorima leaned in closer to him. In a room like this, he realized just how tall he was. Takao had to crane his head up to meet Midorima' gaze and when he did, he unconsciously became mesmerized by his intense emerald eyes. The room was dark, the light cracking through the door window that had been blocked by the shelf Midorima had pushed, but even then, his eyes shined like stars.

Takao didn't know what Midorima was doing, but when he started to lick his thumb wet, Takao's face blushed, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. They had company, there was no way Midorima would—

Midorima's wet thumb was placed onto his neck, and he started rubbing it furiously. His gaze, now focused onto that blood patch on Takao's neck, narrowed as he tried to find any sign of a bite mark from the zombie. He probed and touched, scrutinized and examined his neck until he was sure that there were none. Then, once most of the blood was transferred to his thumb, he took Takao's chin and lifted it up so he could see better. Finally, he sighed in relief when he saw no bite mark whatsoever.

He looked at Takao to tell him it was ok, but his companion's face was bright red and it was then that Midorima realized the action he had done and the position they were currently in. His face immediately turned red, just like his partner, and took various steps away from him. His back hit the shelf on the door, which thus made the noise outside even louder, but for Midorima, it fell on deaf ears. His ears started ringing as he felt himself grow hotter, and he looked away so that no one could see his face. It was at a time like this that Midorima wished he still had his bangs.

The awkwardness between the Light and Shadow of Shuutoku was unbearable.

Kise coughed. "So, needle and string?" He suggested, which slightly surprised Kasamatsu since he was the one who had vehemently protested, and Midorima immediately pushed the three to the corner.

"I'll find it. Give me just a second." He said, refusing to show his face to the others, and started browsing around the various shelves, doing whatever he could to not face Takao. Said person was also looking the other way, his hands holding his cheeks to rid of the redness. Kise looked at the raven-haired man with a mixture of laughter and pity.

Kasamatsu patted Takao on the shoulder for comfort. Takao let out a humorless laugh, which surprised all the of them, even Midorima.

"What was I even expecting?" He whispered, mostly to himself, and had Kise and Kasamatsu been farther away, they never would have heard it. Midorima obviously couldn't as he didn't even gaze at their direction.

Kasamatsu frowned as he saw Takao's dejected face. His hands were still on his cheeks, but the color was fading away slowly, and by the time Midorima came back with a handful of supplies in his bag, the color on Takao's face was gone.

Midorima avoided eye-contact with Takao. "I found everything we needed."

"Needle and string?" Kasamatsu perked up and Midorima nodded in confirmation.

"And even some pills. They have practically everything here. Pills for colds, headaches, and infections." He looked at Kise and Kasamatsu, who were beaming at the news. "This will definitely speed up the healing process. Now, we just need to get out of here." He glanced back at the door. It was still pounding. "Do we even have another option?" He asked dreadfully.

Everyone looked at one another in doubt. Quickly, Takao turned around to see if there was a secret exit way they could use, or at least an emergency exit that would take them into another hallway. Midorima peered over Kise's head to see if Takao had found any.

When he didn't, Midorima put his hand to his chin and began to think. Takao shushed the other two and they all quietly waited for the genius to come up with anything to help them.

Midorima's mind riled.

If there was only one exit, which was invested with who knew how many zombies, there was more chance than not of their dying, or at least becoming bitten. He had seen a handful of zombie movies, courtesy of Takao Kazunari, and while he was still doubtful whether that information was true, he was sure getting bitten would account for something negative. In movies, if one was bitten, he would slowly grow worse, like a disease that was slowly consuming him, and he would eventually die and regardless of how many days it would take, he would turn into a zombie. He wasn't sure if that happened in real life but he refused to take any risks, especially when Takao was involved.

A plan. He needed to come up with a plan. What could one do in a situation like this? The hoard of zombies were probably surrounding the door and the whole perimeter if they were in extremely large amounts. Midorima couldn't help but curse at the hospital's tendency to have large amounts of nurses and doctors.

He decided to organize his thoughts, from what he knew to what he could do. The first thing he knew was that zombies were attracted to sound. That was what led them to this situation, after all. The second thing he knew was that if one smothered himself in zombie blood to mask his human smell, they wouldn't be able to detect him while walking around. He knew that there were probably hundreds of them waiting for them to come out, and he knew that the moment they opened the door, they would instantly die in the hands of the zombies.

He then remembered his time in university where his class would sometimes take field trips to hospitals. He remembered coming here and the various routes and hallways they had to take to get to a specific route. It got so repetitive, he had completely memorized the map of the hospital by the end of the day. He drew a mental map of the hospital and deduced where they were now. By just taking a left, and then a right at the corner of the next hallway, there would be an emergency exit, provided if there were ever a natural disaster.

So what could he do? There were several scenarios he could come up with while organizing his thoughts. The first one, relating to sound, would be to open the door wide enough to push the rolling shelf out and make immense noise in the hallway. It would be like bait; a bird that rushes to eat that small chunk of bread and thus ending up below an amateurish made trap of stick and box. He couldn't help but smile when he suddenly recollected the time when Takao did just that and had actually caught the bird.

He shook his head to rid of the thought and continue his mindset. It was a good plan, one that he could use on a daily basis. However, the risk came with the fact that several zombies could enter while opening the door and they would be powerless to stop them. They were enclosed in an extremely tight, small area, so escaping was impossible. There would be more risk of getting bitten in the latest.

So, he put that plan aside to think of something better. The next scenario he came up with involved the zombie's blood. It was useful information, knowing that you could camouflage yourself and go undetected by the man-eating beasts. But he needed actual zombie blood for that, and the only way to get that was by going with Plan A, which was too risky.

There was always a possibility of combining Plan A with the second scenario. He could always open the door big enough so that he could push the shelf onto the hallway and have the others kill the zombies that came in before it was too late. But was it worth it? Could he really risk his best friend's life just a for a measly escape?

And then he realized that not doing anything and merely staying the supply room until they ran out of food and water would get them killed. And boy did Midorima hate an unstylish death. If he were to go down, he would rather fight for it and say it was worth it in the end.

As Midorima added the finalizing touches to his plan, he opened his eyes to find three other pairs looking at his curiously. He blinked a few times and looked at them in confusion.

"What?" He asked and Takao laughed, this time, with much more passion. He was glad to hear it; the humorless one he had made before had scared him significantly.

"Sorry, Shin-chan. Just that, while you were thinking, you kept murmuring to yourself, answering your own questions and shaking your head at the most random times. You kind of scared those two." Takao said as he pointed to a sheepish looking Kise and Kasamatsu.

"Did I really? That rarely happens." Midorima said, surprised that he acted in such a way. He only did that when he was really focused.

Takao nodded. "I know. Even I was surprised for a second. Did you know you took at least about 10 minutes?"

Midorima's eyes widened. "That long?"

Takao nodded once more. "Yup. It must have been a really difficult situation to deal with, huh?" When Midorima shrugged and said it wasn't that difficult, Takao rolled his eyes. Then, his face grew serious. "So, did you come up with anything?"

Midorima bit his lip but nodded solemnly. Everyone huddled up. "I did think of something but it's very risky. I don't have another plan so this is the only chance we have." He looked at each and every one of them. They looked determined, ready for action.

Sighing, Midorima explained the plan in detail, highlighting where each person should be at which time, and who would do what. When he was done, he glanced at them once more. Their resolve was still there.

"That is an amazing plan." Kasamatsu breathed out. "I never would've thought of something like that in such a short amount of time ." Kise nodded along in awe. Takao looked extremely proud.

"So, let's get this over with." Takao said cheerfully, though Midorima noted that his smile didn't reach his cheeks. Hesitantly, Midorima walked over to the door where the shelf was blockading it. He grasped the edge of the shelf, ready to push it out easily.

He looked back and saw that they were all in position to kill the zombies. Midorima had to give Takao his hatchet because Takao had lost his butcher knife, the only memento he had left of his family, before they entered the supply room.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I could always think of something else with more time." Midorima suggested, doubt smearing his face at the possible outcomes that could arise, but surprisingly, Kise was the one who shook his head.

"Midorimacchi, this is the best shot we have. Your plan is perfect, so we just have to execute well enough to make it work. I want to get myself patched up and I refuse to do it at a stinky, old hospital that reeks of zombie."

Kasamatsu, despite the tense atmosphere, couldn't help but chuckle. "Only you would agree to get a treatment _outside_ the hospital." He then grew serious. "Let's do this."

Midorima took a deep breath and his fists clenched the shelf. He began to slightly open the door to see how much force and resolve they would need, and the moment there was a crack in the door, zombie hands thrusted into the room, angry and desperate for the humans trapped inside.

Midorima was scared. He immediately closed the door and slid down.

"I need a moment. I'm sorry." The words slipped out of his mouth before he knew it. His pride would have never let him do such a thing, to chicken out even before the plan was executed.

The room was quiet but the banging outside was still consistent. Midorima curled his back and covered is face with his arms. He didn't want to face the people who had trusted him. He didn't want to see their disappointed faces.

But then, Takao walked forward and began to rub his back just like he always did when Midorima was at a state of collapse from immense stress. It was soothing, and Takao's touch always felt like sparks of light that just warmed you up. It took you into its grasp, and it would caress your body to make you feel light and loved.

Takao always did that, Midorima couldn't help but note. He couldn't count how many times he had been on the verge of breaking down from the stress of school and expectations. Takao always knew what to do to make it better.

Midorima slowly lifted his head up and was struck by how beautiful Takao looked below the fluorescent light. He was reminded of the sun itself, burning brightly enough to reassure you that everything that touched the light would be saved in the end.

Takao smiled softly. "We can do this, Shin-chan." Midorima remembered when Takao had first given him that nickname. It was a rainy day, dark and gloomy, and both had lost their way back home. The park they were in turned ominous and without an umbrella and a guardian, they had no idea where to go.

It was the first time Midorima had cried in front of Takao. Normally, he would leave before Takao could see his tears, but there had been no place to go. Midorima and Takao were alone in the park, and with the rain thundering, he was scared that they would not make it.

Then, Takao had patted his back, just like he did now, and with a smile, he had said, "We'll make it, Shin-chan!", and Midorima had immediately retorted that he was forbidding him to call him that.

Takao hadn't heeded his warning, unsurprisingly, and the nickname had stuck till the very end.

Now, as Takao smiled and called his name, Midorima's heart began beating faster but for another reason. Takao took a deep breath and Midorima followed right after, knowing this was the best way for both of them to calm down their anxiety. Takao didn't show it, but Midorima knew how much of an insecure person his partner was.

Finally, once Midorima's heart settled, he stood up with a menacing glare that Takao grinned at. It was the same look he had when he was determined to win an impossibly difficult basketball game.

"I'm ready." His voice was steady, like a rock unwilling to move in the face of a rushing waterfall, and the other three nodded, all acquiring more strength from those words alone.

Midorima opened the door quickly, and the first string of zombies entered the room. Midorima pushed the shelf out of the way to cover not only the other zombies waiting to enter but to make enough noise so that they could be distracted.

The ones that entered were swiftly killed by three that were anticipating them. Midorima closed the door before the zombies could once again direct their attention to the living, beating hearts residing inside the room.

There were four in total, much less than what Midorima expected, and they were all on the floor, staining the floor slowly with their blood. Kasamatsu ripped each of their torsos and reached inside for the blood to stick to his hand. The others followed, Takao ripping another one for Midorima, and quickly, they all smothered themselves with zombie blood. They smothered so much that not one ounce of pink skin could be shown. There was only a rotten red, the smell surrounding the entire room. Kise couldn't help but choke silently.

The banging began to subside. Soon enough, it stopped.

Kasamatsu held Kise's wrist unintentionally as they all waited a bit more, just in case. Kise knew it was because his senior was secretly scared.

Kasamatsu then nodded at Midorima, who nodded back and slowly opened the door. The zombies in front of them didn't give them another look and began to walk around the area, still waiting for the living, breathing human beings to come out of the same room.

Slowly, ever so slowly, they began walking out of the room, and deliberately added distorted steps to make their zombie disguise seem more believable. They went left, just like Midorima had told them to, and once they finally reached a corner, where it seemed there were no more zombies around, they ran.

They ran, and ran, and ran until Takao could see the green gleaming light that came from the found the emergency exit gleaming green. It gleamed green; it gleamed life.

The pounding of their footsteps obviously attracted the attention of the zombies lounging around, but by then, it was already too late. They had all exited out of the gleaming green light of the emergency room.

The chilly wind hit their faces with joy. It welcomed them back to the outside world.

Quickly, before any could get out, two of them shut the metal door and leaned against it with heft sighs. The other two scrutinized the area to see if there were any threats they had to deal with. When there were none, all of them fell to the ground, their knees weak and shaking.

The ground was barely covered with grass; it was as if most of the patches were ripped from its roots, making only the dirt visible. Even the brown manure was dry, no rain or water to touch them, and the cracks zig-zagged through the entire place, an endless stream of lines intertwining together to make an almost abstract painting.

Midorima gulped air desperately. "We're alive. Oh god, we're actually alive." He repeated to himself, touching his face in pure shock. The others seemed to have similar mentality. Soon enough, Kise broke down, holding his beloved senior close to him, not worrying about the blood that ruined their clothes and skin. Kasamatsu held him tightly, patting him soothingly on the back, telling him, whispering to him that it was all ok now; that they were all safe now. He was crying as well.

Midorima looked back at Takao, who, in the outsider's perspective, looked like he was merely catching his breath. His eyes were shut tightly, his chest heaving up and down frantically, and his hands were grasping at his heart, either to tell it to calm down or to see if it were still beating, Midorima didn't know.

What he did know, however, was Takao's true sentiments. Midorima crawled to him, unable to stand with his shaky legs, and pulled Takao towards him, hugging him as hard as he could. He soon felt Takao vibrating, his shoulders stiff and frozen, until finally, they relaxed and he broke down as quickly as Kise. Midorima said nothing, a few tears escaping as well, and he whispered, "It's ok. It's ok," until he could believe it himself.

They all stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity past, just hugging each other and memorizing the other's presence so that they could realize in their bones that they might never be able to feel it again. They held on tightly, they held on until they could no longer be closer.

Surprisingly, Takao was the one who let go first. He wiped the blood mixed tear from his cheek and smiled softly at Midorima. "I'm ok. I'm ok." He said and Kasamatsu separated himself from his still crying kohai.

"Kise, we're alive. We're still alive." He whispered once more and flutteringly kissed Kise's tears from his cheeks. Not caring that his face was covered with zombie blood, not caring that Kise looked horrible with the rotten red marring his entire body, he kissed and kissed and kissed until he held Kise's face close and kissed the only human color left, his luscious pink lips.

Kise didn't kissed him back; instead, he cried against Kasamatsu's soft lips and murmured to both himself and his lover that it would be ok; that they were still alive.

Midorima and Takao both looked at the two in envy. They wanted nothing more but to do the same to each other. Both didn't know that the other was thinking the same.

Kise's hiccups subsided, as well as the soft whispering passed between the two, and Kasamatsu looked at the Shuutoku Light and Shadow with dull eyes.

"We made it." He said, and everyone nodded. Kise smiled gratefully at Midorima.

"We owe you so much, Midorimacchi. Thank you for keeping us alive."

Midorima couldn't help but splutter. "I did nothing. You were the ones who—"

Kasamatsu went over to him and hit him on the back. "Idiot, if we didn't have you and your plan, we never would have gotten out of there. I don't think we could have done anything if it weren't for you. And for that, we owe you our lives."

"Don't say that. Take care of yours. I'll be just fine." Midorima immediately said, looking at Kise involuntarily, and Kasamatsu, who saw the look, nodded with a smile on his face.

"We will."


	7. VII

"Thankfully, it looks like the pills are working, and with the amount of disinfectant we got, this will be healed in no time. Looks like the wound is clean enough to be stitched back up, too." Midorima deduced as he let go of Kise's healthier looking arm. Kasamatsu sighed in relief. Takao gave Midorima the bag filled with first aid and he took out a cloth, a needle, and a string, which they had all been painfully acquired.

He folded the cloth to make it look like a simpler, more humane version of an iron bit, which had been used by the slaves back then to keep their mouths shut, and gave it to Kise.

"You're going to need to bite on this hard." He said and Kise, though his eyes shook from terror, nodded as confidently as he could and bit on the cloth hard.

"If he can't hold down the scream, you're going to have to pull the edges of the cloth." Midorima told Kasamatsu, and he looked horrified.

"I'd be choking him!"

"You'd be preventing him from screaming. He's not going to choke. Trust me."

"Kasamatsu-senpai." Kise placed his hand on top of his senior's. Kasamatsu looked at him doubtfully. "I'll be ok. Let's just get this over with."

Kasamatsu still looked conflicted but nevertheless agreed. Midorima took the needle and disinfected it as much as he could with rubbing alcohol that was provided at the hospital. He carefully slipped the medical string through the hole and was ready to puncture Kise's skin.

"Get ready." Midorima warned and both of them nodded before Midorima began to stitch Kise's wound up. Immediately, Kise choked down a terrible scream, biting hard the cloth and clenching it down as much as he could. He tried to look at Midorima's handwork with his trembling eyes but realized that he was not even a third done. The pain grew significantly as Midorima kept working, and by the time he was at the halfway point, the most sensitive section, Kasamatsu had to pull on the edges of the cloth to prevent Kise from opening his mouth to scream. Kise couldn't help but choke, crying all the while from the immense pain he was getting, and Kasamatsu was just about to let go when Midorima quickly called Takao to bring in the bandages and wrap them around the now stitched up arm. The needle was bloody, but not as much as he expected, and the string was knotted tightly, assuring the working doctor that he did a good job.

"It's done." Midorima said as Takao finished wrapping the bandages around Kise's arm, and it took all of Kise's willpower not to faint from the pain. It burned horribly and it felt like his entire skin was melting off him. He was scared; he was sure that if he tried to take off the bandage, his arm would be gone.

Kasamatsu immediately grabbed ahold of Kise's head and pressed it close to his chest. Kise's face was still scrunched up in pain, but his eyebrows loosened slightly when Kasamatsu took control and tried to take away his pain.

"It's ok, Kise. It's ok. It's done. We're finished. You did a great job." Kasamatsu reassured and it took a while before Kise could finally relax his entire facial expression and slowly fall into a deep sleep.

The spikey-haired man sighed in relief. "So, when should I cut the stitches away?" He asked as he collapsed to the ground, his knees on the dirt and close to the fire.

Midorima gave Takao the supplies he used to put back into the only bag they had. "You'll be able to know. It takes a few weeks at most, but remember to disinfect it at night or when you have to reapply the bandage. You'll be able to take it off when you see a definite scar."

Kasamatsu nodded. "Again, I don't know how to thank you. You've done so much for us, and we've done nothing for you."

"You've done enough. It's fine." Midorima said with a small smile. "We were deprived of human contact for a few weeks, anyways. We… had a rough time once with other people. You've restored our trust on humanity."

Takao smiled and Kasamatsu tilted his head in questioning. "Can I asked what happened?"

Takao shrugged. "We met someone whom we thought we could trust, but he was just selfish in the end. He tried to take all of our supplies with his friend we met a few days after but they died before they could escape."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Takao said, his eyes growing steely. "They got what they deserved."

Midorima said nothing, merely looking at Takao and understanding his true sentiments. Takao had the right to say whatever he could. He had no right to say that secretly, Takao was killing himself with guilt every night.

"We couldn't really trust anyone from then on. We met several people along the way but we never really had a chance to talk or go together like we did here. It looked like they were all savages, you know?" Takao continued. "There was one who looked really buff and scary, and his red hair did nothing to lessen that. We made eye contact for a second before he ran away. He was carrying someone and looked really concerned."

"He wasn't carrying anybody." Midorima interrupted in confusion. Takao looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean? He was carrying a blue-haired guy who was about half his size."

Midorima shook his head slowly. "No, I don't remember anyone like that. I remember the guy you were talking about but I never saw another person other than him."

"Shin-chan, are you sure?"

Midorima nodded. "Positive. Or else, I would have helped them regardless of what happened. I didn't see anyone."

Takao scratched his head. "Huh, maybe I saw wrong. The guy that was being carried _did_ look really pale. Maybe he was a ghost and only I could see him."

"Takao, don't joke around." Midorima said. "In any case, from all the people we've met coincidentally, we've never really tried to talk to them. We were… I guess you can say we were always afraid that we'd have to go through it all again." He _couldn't live with going through that again._ Midorima thought to himself as he looked at Takao sadly. He was still acting in his facade.

Kasamatsu looked deeply into the fire. "Did you all notice the speed the zombies had?"

The Shuutoku Light and Shadow looked each other before gazing at the fire themselves. "Yeah, we did. It almost looked like they were jogging." Takao provided and shivered slightly.

"What do you think is happening? When the apocalypse happened, they were as slow as snails. Do you think they're evolving?" Kasamatsu asked and Midorima shrugged.

"That would be the most reasonable option. Evolution may be possible, even for the dead."

Takao suddenly froze and looked at Midorima with wide eyes. "Does that mean that they'll be able to run soon?"

At those words, the remaining two froze as well. Then, "Let's hope that never happens. We have enough to deal with as it is." Kasamatsu answered and sighed.

His hands thrust towards the fire but the flames seem to shy away from the touch. They seemed to go close to Kise's instead. Kasamatsu looked at his kohai worryingly.

"So, tell me about yourselves. What were you guys doing before all of this happened?" Kasamatsu gave out a small chuckle. "It's weird. We've been through so much already that it feels like I've known you for longer than a few days, but even still, I don't know anything about you guys."

Midorima shrugged. "We've never had time for it." Kasamatsu nodded but the air around them was easy and calm. "There's not much. I mean, you probably know how we were in high school."

"Shuutoku's Light and Shadow." Kasamatsu mused. "You guys made quite a name for yourselves back then. It looked like nothing could break you apart. Your teamwork was impeccable."

Takao smiled at their high school memories. "Thanks. We were both really into basketball then and since we're childhood friends, we kind of know each other inside out."

"It looks like it. You guys seem to trust each other to the core. Kise and I had been to some of your matches back then, and we couldn't help but admire your skill and teamwork. It really looked like nothing could break you two apart."

"Nothing ever could. Of course, we had our off days but not enough to ruin the friendship we had." Takao responded.

"So, when did you meet Kise?" Midorima asked curiously and Kasamatsu put his hand on his chin in thought.

"High school. I was a third year while he was still in first. I had heard a lot about him; he was a well known person, because of both basketball and modeling. At first, he was a complete ass who believed that no one could beat him. I had to knock him up a few times so he could get the idea, and even then, he was a pain in the ass. He was one of the cockiest people I had ever met."

"Sounds like someone I know." Takao joked as he nudged Midorima on the shoulder. Midorima pushed Takao back, pretending to be offended.

"How did you keep him in check?" Midorima asked.

Kasamatsu chuckled. "Well, since I was captain, it was my responsibility to take care of him. I mostly used violence, kicking him or throwing the ball at his head whenever he got distracted by his fangirls who would always come to the gym while we had practice matches. You have no idea how many times I had to drag him to the nurse's office afterwards.

"But then, after we lost to one of the dark horses in a practice match, Kise changed. He started to come to practice more and have more fun. He actually started to smile while practicing, something we had never seen before. He was doing all he could to get better, to the point where he even stopped worrying about pushing his body over the limit." Kasamatsu's face got serious and his fists clenched at the memory.

"He hurt his ankle real bad, and I had no idea until we were in the quarterfinals of the Winter Cup. He started to slow down and even started to limp for a bit. But the ass always tried to hide it every time I looked at him. It really looked like he didn't want to show me. When I finally realized and took him to the hospital, the doctors had told us that he needed rehab for at least a few months. Imagine my anger when I heard that."

"Kise does tend to hide things a lot from you, Kasamatsu-san." Takao noted and Kasamatsu agreed.

"It's why he's so afraid of hospitals." He sighed. "Apparently, during rehab, he did something with his ankle that further pushed him back from playing basketball again. When he finally got discharged, I was already out of high school and in university. He told me he never wanted to go the hospital again. Even now, I have no idea why."

Midorima decided to change the topic. "So, when did you two… uh…." He tried to put it in words but found that it was too embarrassing. Kasamatsu saw this and merely laughed.

"Started liking each other?" He asked and Takao nodded in further embarrassment. "It must have been a surprise, right?" Kasamatsu leaned back comfortably. "It's been going on for at least about 4 years, when Kise started to go to practice more and completely forgot about his other work like modeling. He's the one who told me he liked me, actually. Before one of the most important matches of our lives. Kise had a rival from the other team and was freaking out about it, not that he showed it. I took him out of the locker room to try and calm him down when he suddenly kissed me and told me he was sorry."

"He told you he was sorry?" Midorima asked in surprise and Kasamatsu nodded in confirmation. "Why would say that?"

The former captain shrugged. "I guess it was because he thought I would be disgusted that one of my teammates would like me, especially since we're both guys."

Takao nodded in empathy. He knew the feeling so well. "So, what happened? What did you do?"

"At first, I didn't know how to react. I just stood frozen, and Kise, who must've interpreted it as rejection, walked away, saying that he was sorry again. Then, when the match started, he was doing horribly. The rival was crushing him and we all knew that he wasn't in the zone. I was the only one who actually knew why.

"So, when it was half time and we were about 20 points behind, I dragged him to the most secluded place I could find and told him that I would think about it. I wasn't necessarily rejecting him, but at the same time, I didn't know myself how I felt. I never really thought about relationships and liking someone, you know?"

Kasamatsu began to laugh. "Now that I look back on it, it was obvious that I liked Kise just as much. I couldn't even talk to girls, did you know that?"

"What?" Takao said, unable to believe it. "With those looks?"

Kasamatsu laughed once more. "I appreciate the compliment. But it's true. The only words I could say to a girl was 'um' and 'no'. Anything else and I would've started to shake like a chihuahua. I was horrible with girls. I really don't know why I was so nervous around them, and to this day, I still can't talk to one properly." He then sighed. "I told him that I liked him back after we lost in the quarterfinals. Right after it was decided that he would have to go to rehab. He was crying, telling me that it was his fault we lost. I told him he was an idiot before kissing him the same way he had. We've been together ever since."

Takao rested his chin on his hands. "That's an adorable story. Relationship goals, you know?"

Kasamatsu chuckled. "Whatever you like to call it." He then looked at the duo carefully. "So," he began, "did you guys have any relationships in college? Anyone you liked?"

Midorima shrugged while Takao's face grew red. Kasamatsu remembered the conversation they had had while they were searching from the needle and string, before they went to the hospital.

"Do you like Midorima?" He had asked and Takao, though blushing, nodded.

"Is it that obvious?" He had answered back and Kasamatsu raised his eyebrow.

"Anyone with half a brain would notice."

"Well then, Shin-chan has half a brain."

"You should just tell him. It looks like he likes you, too."

Takao then laughed humorlessly. "Looks like." He had repeated sarcastically. "Shin-chan is one of strictest people I've ever met. It'd be a fucking miracle if it turned out he were gay. I'm not risking our friendship for a stupid crush like mine. I refuse to let that happen."

"Aren't you going to regret it?" Kasamatsu had then asked and Takao's head fell in anguished contemplation.

He had been silent for a few seconds before finally answering. "As long as I'm with Shin-chan till the end, I don't think I will."

Now, as Kasamatsu looked at the two, he realized just how conflicted they both were about their feelings. He and Kise had talked about them while both had been sleeping, during their night-watch. Kise told him how Midorima had said the same thing to him about Takao and Kasamatsu relayed the same response. They had then looked at Shuutoku's Light and Shadow, Midorima and Takao, and how they lied close to each other, their hands almost touching but still so far away.

"Well, I guess we can't really think about that now, right?" Kasamatsu said and sighed. "Everything's become so fucked up, I don't know what to think anymore." The group grew silent, the only sounds being the howling wind and the flickering lisps coming from the flames.

Then, "Can you tell us what happened? When it all happened?" Midorima asked cautiously and Kasamatsu couldn't help but wince.

"Even I can't figure it out yet." He sighed. "We were in Kanagawa, and we were getting ready for a basketball match with another team. We were in the locker room and we were hearing some strange things, like a lot of growling and muffled screaming, so one of our friends went outside to check. Me and Kise were at the corner talking — well, mostly me calming him down because he was having doubts about himself again like always, and we heard banging from the other side, where the door was. The closest to the door, a really rowdy guy that no one could really understand, opened it without a second thought and our friend barged in, looking extremely sick and having a chunk of his arm bitten right off."

Kasamatsu paused for a second and began to run his hand through Kise's hair in hopes of calming himself down. He began to play with it and Kise smiled softly in his sleep. "Next thing you know, he's eating everyone. His eyes were dilated, his skin getting more yellow by the second, and every time he attacked one of our teammates, they would also change. We had no idea what to do; Kise was just clinging onto me in fear. We were about to get bitten, too, actually. Everybody was dead except for us. Then, Kise just stood up and barreled the bench we were sitting on. It was kind of long, and pretty heavy if you ask me, so I have no idea how he could just fling that, but it bought us enough time to get out and lock them in.

"When we got out, there were even more. We didn't know what to do. They were coming at us t every angle and I still don't know how we got out without any damage. It was a complete blur, to be honest, but in the end, we did. We tried to block the door but it was glass, and the zombies were trying to break it. It wasn't working, nothing was, and we would've been dead in an instant if a gas truck that was passing by us hadn't tipped over from the sudden person jumping in front of it. All the liquid spilt and it surrounded us and the stadium. Kise had a a lighter at the time —don't know why he had that in the first place — and before I could say anything, he burnt the building down, all of it in mere seconds."

His fist clenched for a second before he buried his face into his hands. "We just… We just killed all of them, you know? Without even knowing if they could've be saved… We just up and murdered all the people inside. Kise feels guilty, even now. He thinks he was the one who killed all those people. All strangers, all innocent. He tortures himself every night when he thinks about how he believes he killed his teammates and friends."

"But there were all zombies! They were already dead!" Takao shouted to Kise's defense. "He doesn't have to feel guilty at all!"

Kasamatsu looked away. "I know, I said the same thing. But he does. I still do, too. I let Kise do all of that by himself. I couldn't do anything for him, and now, he's wrecked with who knows how much remorse!"

"That was the fault of no one, both of you should know that." Midorima said, his voice solemn. "What you did was a necessity in order to survive. It was either kill or be killed. You took the best choice and decided to save your lives. They were already dead in the first place. There was nothing you could have done."

"It still doesn't lessen the guilt. Kise is one of the most important people in my life, maybe even more than my own parents at this point. He's the one who saved me countless of times and to see him cry to sleep every night because of that day, the day where I could do nothing for him, I can't help but wonder if he would be better off without me."

"Kasamatsu-san!" Takao yelled as he gripped Kasamatsu's thin wrists. Kasamatsu tried to break away but Takao held him in place, making him look at Takao's steely hawk eyes. "You know for a fact that Kise would never even think of such a thing! You know for fact that he would probably kill himself if you ever left him!"

"You don't know that! You don't know!" Kasamatsu screamed back. "You weren't there! You weren't there when Kise put the whole place on fire." He was trembling now, but Takao didn't let go of his wrists. They were so, so thin.

"He was shaking so much, I thought he was having some kind of seizure. We watched the whole thing burn to the ground. You have no idea how many screams we heard from inside. They sounded like real people. Not those grotesque zombie growls, but _actual people_. And I couldn't take care of him." He broke away from Takao's grip and his hand covered his wet eyes. "I couldn't take care of him."

And the night grew silent as the Shuutoku Light and Shadow listened to the helpless cries of Kasamatsu Yukio. The sorrow, the woe, the anguish of not being able to the trusting, loving, caring senior he wanted to be for his partner, lover.

Kise slept, unknowing of the conversation that had just happened, and couldn't help but smile in his sleep when he felt the flames from the fire caress his face, so close that it was threatening to burn the skin off. He smiled in his sleep as the flames got bigger, engulfing his body whole, never to be seen again. He smiled in his sleep as the flames lit up, crashing down on his world, leaving him to go nowhere, and letting the future glow bright as he let his beloved lover go.

* * *

"So, I guess this is where we part." Kasamatsu said as he looked at the border of the two cities. Kasamatsu and Kise would go to Niigata in search for their parents while Midorima and Takao would continue their journey to Hokkaido by going through Fukushima.

"We've been through so much that it's kind of hard to separate, isn't it?" Kise said with a light chuckle, but they all heard the sadness of losing a new friend.

"You guys could always come with us. We're a pretty good team, if you ask me." Takao proposed, hoping they would agree. Unfortunately, both shook their heads.

"We're sticking with our goals." Kasamatsu stated but his eyebrows relaxed as he put on a calm face. "But hey, maybe we'll be able to see each other again, you never know. We could always meet at Hokkaido, get the cure, and live the rest of our lives rebuilding everything that was torn down."

Kasamatsu then gestured to Takao to follow him and Takao complied. When they were far enough from Kise and Midorima, Kasamatsu patted Takao's back.

"That's a promise." Takao smiled as he replied to Kasamatsu's previous comment. "Don't die on us, ok?"

Kasamatsu snorted as he patted the hawk-eyed man on the back. "I should say the same thing for you." He then looked at Midorima, who was standing alone awkwardly. "Although, I don't think I have to worry that much. You have a good partner with you, Takao."

Takao smiled softly. "Yeah, I do."

"What do you think those two are talking about?" Kise asked, curious to know what the two were talking about, and if it was about them.

"Who knows?" Midorima shrugged but he secretly wanted to know as well.

"Well, it was real nice meeting you, Midorimacchi. You really helped me out." Kise said with a grin, showing him his bandaged arm. His complexion looked significantly better; it practically radiated against the sunny sky.

"I'm glad to hear it. Remember to take the stitches out when the skin shuts, and make sure to disinfect it every time you change the bandage. You can't let it get infected again or you'll have a hard time dealing with it."

"Yeah, I know." Kise slightly winced at the memory. He then looked at the two former point guards and saw Kasamatsu chuckling at Takao's antics. He sighed, letting out a goofy smile in the process, and Midorima noted the soft look Kise was giving the senior.

"You really love him, don't you?" Midorima asked softly and his thoughts flickered back to a few nights back, when Kasamatsu couldn't help but express his rage at his own self.

"To the point where I don't think I can live my life without him. He's everything to me. And if we can't find our parents…" Kise closed his eyes. "He's the only one I'll have left."

"Tell him that." Midorima said and Kise opened his eyes to look at him in confusion.

"Tell him what?"

"What you just said to me."

Kise tilted his head in confusion. "I thought he already knew. Why would I say that?"

Midorima merely shrugged. "It's not a bad thing to remind them once in a while."

Kise looked at him for a moment with unreadable eyes. Then, "I'll definitely keep that in mind. What will you say to Takacchi then?"

"Takacchi?" Midorima echoed and had a look of horror when he realized he had said that aloud.

Kise laughed at Midorima's face. "Oh wow, Midorimacchi, I didn't think you'd actually say that out loud."

"Exactly when did you start calling Takao… that?" Midorima sneered, which made Kise laugh even harder.

"It just happened, I guess. I respect both of you guys too much not to use that suffix."

"Sure…" Midorima wasn't convinced.

Kise brightened. "Right, so what will you say to Takacchi then? I'll definitely tell senpai how much he means to me, but what will you say?"

Midorima spluttered. "What is there to say?"

"You're not fooling anyone, Midorimacchi. Tell Takacchi how much he means to you, too. _It's not a bad thing to remind them once in a while._ " Kise smiled as he saw Midorima blush red at Kise's using his own words.

"Fine, just stop talking about it." Midorima finally relented and Kise smile's radiated the place, blinding Midorima in the process.

Kasamatsu and Takao then walked over to them, arms around each other's shoulders and smiling brightly. It seemed everything was glowing around them.

"Did you guys finish your talk? What did you talk about, anyways?" Kise tried to pry jokingly but Takao merely put his finger in front of his mouth with a mischievous glint.

"That's a secret only me and Kasamatsu-san will know." Takao laughed whole-heartedly when he saw Midorima's look of annoyance.

And finally, the four people began to part, two going west and the other two going north. If Midorima had to describe the moment, it would have to be bittersweet. They had made many memories with Kasamatsu and Kise in such a short amount of time, and there was barely any possibility that they would meet again, much less make more of these heartfelt memories. Sure, they were marred with images of zombies, but the small, insignificant moments that made them feel human was all they ever wanted.

And yet, Midorima held onto that small hope, just like the small hope of finding his own parents or even Takao's father because he was delusional and desperate. Delusional because he knew there was more of a chance of their losing their lives and desperate because it had been so long since he had such a great time with other people. He was desperate to have more human contact because every time, he was pushing Takao away from his motives, his feelings.

It had been nice to vent his feelings for once. He never thought his rusted tin heart would open so easily with just a few coaxing words.

Midorima and Takao waited for Kise and Kasamatsu to leave, for them to turn their backs and head their way to Niigata while they headed on to Fukushima. Kise just wouldn't turn his back against them. Instead, he kept waving at them, a huge grin on his face, and a few transparent tears rolling down his cheek.

"Why are you crying?" Kasamatsu asked, not looking at Kise but knowing immediately. Unlike his blond partner, he was already looking forward.

"I don't really know." Kise responded back, still waving, still smiling, still crying. The sun, in contrast to the howling wind, burned brightly on both of them, making them look ethereal against the burning atmosphere.

"Come on, let's go before the sun burns our backs. It's helpfully warm today, isn't it?" Kasamatsu said with a hint of sarcasm and grabbed Kise's shoulder so that he could finally turn away from the two friends they had made.

Kise couldn't stop smiling. More tears flowed. "Hey, I don't think it's bad. In a way, we're just letting the flames bright up our futures, you know?"

Kasamatsu gave him a look of surprise and disbelief. "What are you saying?" His voice trembled. "Kise, I thought we talked about this; you can't feel guilty about what you did. It was necessary. It had to be done."

"I know." Kise whispered, covering his eyes with his hand. "I know." His voice was barely audible. Kasamatsu looked away as he gave his lover a hug.

A second later, Kise dug through his pocket and took out a small rectangular object that Kasamatsu looked at with wide eyes. There was still some alcohol left, as if that were possible.

"Where did you get that?" Kasamatsu asked, surprised.

Kise smiled tiredly. "I never threw it away."

"Kise, why do you do this to yourself? How many times do I have to tell you that it was never your fault? Throw that away."

Kise shook his head. "I'm sorry, senpai. I don't think I ever will. It's the only thing I have left of our teammates, no matter how horrible the experience was."

"Why do you always torture yourself?" Kasamatsu asked in dread.

Kise shrugged, his eyes painfully reflecting hopelessness. "I don't know. I really don't know." The older of the two sighed as he took Kise's head and rested it on his shoulder for a bit, their steps stopping and their bodies relaxing. He patted the blond's head, his fingers silking through the blond's hair and Kise sighed calmly.

"I love you senpai."

"I love you, too."

Nothing else was said after that, and the Shuutoku's Light and Shadow waited until the two silhouettes slowly disappeared from their eyesights and into the burning sun.

Then, they themselves began to walk, away from the memories they made and to the new future, just a bit closer to their goal, just a bit closer to their hearts.

"Hey, Shin-chan?" Takao whispers and Midorima wakes up groggily.

"What is it? Are there more zombies?" Midorima asks, suddenly more awake and alert. Takao shakes his head in a relaxed way.

"Nah, I promised to wake you up just before sunrise, right? Well, I'm keeping my promise, though I was really reluctant to do so." He says and Midorima's stance loosens up. He then stands as Takao takes his place in the tent.

"What did you dream about? You looked really peaceful." Takao says and Midorima looks at him with a surprised look.

"Really?"

Takao nods. "Yeah, more peaceful than I've ever seen you."

Midorima shrugs, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I was dreaming about the past."

"Before or after?"

"After. When we met Kise and Kasamatsu-san."

Takao nods but his eyelids soon start to close. "I miss them."

Midorima pushes Takao slightly so that he can lie down on the sleeping bag they had found once they had gone inside Fukushima. They've never been more glad to have found this and the tent at first glance. "Go to sleep, you must be tired."

Takao nods off and before they know it, it only takes a few moments before Midorima's sure that his partner is finally asleep. He can't help but look away from the scenery to see Takao's sleeping stance, and essentially, his face. It's serene and calm, a face that does not come up often in an apocalypse like this.

Midorima smiles softly at the sight of it; he doesn't think he would've survived this long if it weren't for Takao.

He, without even noticing, stretches his hand and lightly touches Takao's cheek, and has to repress the strong urge to kiss it. He shakes his head violently before turning his body back to the scenery.

The sun begins to come up slowly, and Midorima can't help but think to himself: Takao really is the sun to his life.

* * *

 **END OF PART I**


End file.
